Tropical Storm Beryl continued to strengthen overnight as it approached the Windward Islands, where it is expected to cross as a Category 1 hurricane Sunday and Monday.
From there, the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center kept Beryl on a westward track, into the center of the Caribbean. There, it could find warm water and favorable wind conditions, enough to strengthen Beryl into a Category 2 hurricane. On it current track, the Beryl could cross Jamaica late Wednesday on a path that South Florida will need to monitor over the coming week..
As of the 8 a.m. Satruday update, Beryl was about 975 miles from Barbados, headed west at at a rapid 21 mph, with maximum sustained winds around 60 mph.
As of Saturday morning, Barbados remained under a hurricane watch.
If Beryl becomes a hurricane on Sunday, it would be the farthest east a June hurricane has formed in the historical record. Only one other hurricane has formed anywhere nearby in June, and that was in 1933.
By Tuesday, the hurricane center noted that conditions could shift, and a strong subtropical ridge that is expected to keep the storm at lower latitudes could lighten, allowing Beryl to inch into higher latitudes. That shift could also bring additional wind shear to the area, which could help batter the storm back down to a Category 1 hurricane.
Right behind Beryl, the hurricane centers are also watching another system. This one, a tropical wave hundreds of miles south of the Cabo Verde Islands, had a growing shot at forming into a tropical depression or storm within the week.
As of the 8 a.m. update, forecasters gave it a 20% chance of strengthening in the next seven days.
Source Agencies
