Hurricane Beryl breaks records as it wreaks havoc across the southeastern Caribbean.
On Sunday, Beryl became the first Category 4 storm ever to form in the Atlantic in June. No storm has ever reached Category 4 intensity so early in the hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. The previous record was held by Hurricane Dennis, which hit Cuba as a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005.
Then the storm intensified on Monday, making history again as First Category 5 Storm Ever In the Atlantic Ocean.
Hurricane Beryl hit Carriacou Island on Monday and is expected to bring heavy rains, life-threatening winds and flooding as it moves west across the Caribbean. The storm is expected to pass near Jamaica on Wednesday.
The storm has killed at least four people so far, and officials say the death toll could rise in the coming days.
At a news conference on Monday, Grenada’s Prime Minister Deacon Mitchell said Hurricane Beryl devastated the Carriacou area in half an hour.
This year’s hurricane season is expected to be exceptionally busy, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The agency’s May forecast called for eight to 13 hurricanes in what meteorologists said was likely to be an “exceptional” season.
Unusually warm waters in the Atlantic Ocean helped fuel Hurricane Beryl, the third major hurricane — rated Category 3 or higher — ever recorded in the Atlantic basin in June.
This storm is also the oldest major hurricane in 58 years: the last was Hurricane Alma, which reached Category 3 on June 8, 1966.
The first major hurricane of the season usually forms in late August or early September, According to the National Hurricane Center.
The strength of Hurricane Beryl was also astonishing. Multiple studies have shown that while climate change is not necessarily expected to increase the total number of hurricanes per year, warming ocean temperatures will help strengthen those that do form.
Beryl grew from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 42 hours, an astonishing speed. The storm’s rapid intensification was made possible by warm ocean surface waters, which act as fuel for developing storms. (The National Hurricane Center defines “rapid intensification” as an increase in sustained wind speeds of at least 35 mph over a 24-hour period.)
Scientists say thatH practical From rap musicID condensationbecoming more common As sea surface temperatures rise due to climate change.
Since 2010, several major hurricanes have undergone this process, including Hurricane Dorian in 2019, which saw its peak winds increase from 150 mph to 185 mph in just nine hours. Hurricane Ian underwent two bouts of rapid intensification in 2022 before making landfall in southwest Florida.
a 2017 sixYouThis is A study found that storms with wind speeds of 70 mph over a 24-hour period are expected to occur about once every 100 years. But if greenhouse gas emissions remain the same, storms with wind speeds of 70 mph over a 24-hour period could occur every five to 10 years by 2100.
Rapid intensification is a major concern because storms that intensify quickly tend to be more destructive and may strike before people have time to evacuate their homes or make adequate preparations.
Climate change is also making hurricanes more destructive overall, because a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture. This can cause storms to unleash heavy rainfall, which can cause catastrophic flooding.
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