Forecasters are warning this year's hurricane season could be among the worst in recorded history as Hurricane Beryl moves towards the Caribbean.
The hurricane strengthened into a Category 4 as it made landfall on the Windward Islands on Monday, sending torrential rainfall, severe winds and huge storm surges through the region.
Meteorologists cautioned that the hurricane coming so early in the season could be a sign of far worse to come, with Beryl becoming the earliest Category 4 storm ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean.
Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada have seen early damage, and although the eye of the storm may not hit a coastline, forecasters warned large swaths of the Caribbean may be battered by the hurricane in the coming days.
Footage from the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia showed the moment Hurricane Beryl touched down in the region, bringing torrential rainfall and severely high winds of over 130mph
Hurricane Beryl became the first ever Category 4 storm in the Atlantic Ocean in June, with forecasters warning high ocean temperatures could lead to a chaotic hurricane season
Hurricane Beryl is the first Category 4 storm ever recorded in the month of June, with meteorologists citing warm ocean temperatures as the reason it was generated so early in the year.
The waters off the Atlantic are as warm as they would normally be in peak-hurricane season, which could spell disaster in later months as more twisters are generated.
'Hurricanes don’t know what month it is, they only know what their ambient environment is,' Jim Kossin, a hurricane expert and science advisor at nonprofit First Street Foundation, told CNN.
'Beryl is breaking records for the month of June because Beryl thinks it’s September.'
Early images of Beryl's landfall in the Caribbean showed flash flooding and high winds tore through communities, toppling trees and bringing large storm surges to the coastlines.
The hurricane has registered wind speeds over 130mph, and gained 95mph in under 48 hours as it rapidly strengthened over Sunday.
Residents on islands in the storm's path were warned in recent days to prepare for heavy damage, as local officials cautioned there could be widespread power outages and threats to life.
'I want everybody in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to take this matter very seriously,' Prime Minister of the islands Ralph Gonsalves said on Sunday.
'There are some persons who are hoping for the best, and we must all do that, but we all have to prepare for the worst.'
Hurricane Beryl briefly weakened to a Category 3 storm as it replaced its eyewall, with meteorologists warned would allow the storm to grow in potency
Hurricane Beryl battered Hastings, Barbados (pictured), as the nation's Home Affairs and Information Minister Wilfred Abrahams warned residents 'not go anywhere until the all clear is given'
Early images from the storm's damage in the Caribbean (seen in Bridgetown, Barbados) showed trees toppled and buildings damaged by the hurricane
Billboards are seen fallen on the street as hurricane Beryl passes near to Bridgetown, Barbados on July 1, 2024
Weather trackers said the storm briefly reduced in strength to a Category 3 on early Monday, but warned that this was far from good news.
It came as Hurricane Beryl underwent a process known as an 'eyewall replacement cycle', where the hurricane sheds its eyewall as it generates a stronger, more potent core.
Beryl is expected to remain an 'extremely dangerous major hurricane' for several days, National Weather Service forecaster Eric Blake said in an advisory early Monday.
It will weaken into midweek, but will remain a hurricane as it barrels through much of the Caribbean.
'Potentially catastrophic wind damage is expected where the core of Beryl moves through portions of the Windward Islands,' Blake said in his warning.
Wind speeds grew by almost 100mph in under 48hrs over the weekend, bringing damage to several nations in the storm's path
The NWS warning urged residents in the Grenadine Islands to remain in shelters throughout Monday.
'This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. Take action now to protect your life,' the advisory added.
'Remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions and do not venture out in the eye of the storm.'
Residents in Barbados were also warned by the nation's Home Affairs and Information Minister Wilfred Abrahams to 'not go anywhere until the all clear is given.'
'I know in the day of social media, everybody wants to be first to get something out,' he told Barbados Today.
'You want to be the first to have a video. You want to be the first to show something, you want to be first to show house damage. Don’t do that in a way that might cost you your life.'
