'Dangerous' Hurricane Beryl stalks Caribbean

Man boards up shop window in Bridgetown, Barbados, before Hurricane Beryl

Beryl has intensified so rapidly because ocean waters are 3 to 4 degrees warmer than usual for this time of year

(Image credit: Chandan Khanna / AFP via Getty Images)

published 1 July 2024

What happened

Hurricane Beryl strengthened from a tropical storm on Saturday to a "very dangerous" Category 4 hurricane by Sunday evening, threatening Caribbean islands with "life-threatening winds and storm surges," the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Beryl's unusually rapid intensification so early in the season was due largely to ocean waters 3 to 4 degrees warmer than usual for this time of year.

Who said what

Hurricane researchers have warned for months that the 2024 season "could be one for the record books, and now it is," The Washington Post said. The earliest Atlantic hurricane to reach Category 4 previously was Hurricane Dennis on July 8, 2005.

Beryl is an "extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area," hurricane expert Michael Lowry said to The Associated Press. "Unusual is an understatement."

What next?

Beryl is expected to hit the Windward Islands — Grenada, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia and St. Vincent — early Monday and slowly weaken to a tropical depression near the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday night. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted in May that the Atlantic will see an "above normal" 17 to 25 named storms this year, versus 14 in an average season.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.