Hurricane Beryl is breaking records as it leaves a path of destruction in the southeastern Caribbean.
On Sunday, Beryl became the first Category 4 storm ever to form in the Atlantic Ocean in the month of June. Then it made history again on Monday, when it intensified to a Category 5 storm, becoming the earliest hurricane of that strength ever seen in the Atlantic Ocean.
Beryl now holds the title as the strongest hurricane on record in the month of July. The previous record was held by Hurricane Dennis, which slammed into Cuba as a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005.
No storm has reached Beryl’s level of intensity so early in the hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
The hurricane made landfall Monday on Carriacou Island, and it is expected to bring heavy rain and life-threatening winds and flooding as it moves west across the Caribbean. Beryl is expected to pass near Jamaica on Wednesday.
The storm has killed at least four people, and officials said the number of fatalities could increase in the coming days.
In a news briefing Monday, Prime Minister of Grenada Dickon Mitchell said Hurricane Beryl flattened Carriacou in half an hour. The storm is the strongest hurricane ever to pass through the Windward Islands, which include Grenada, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
This year’s hurricane season is expected to be exceptionally busy, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The agency’s May outlook predicted eight to 13 hurricanes in what forecasters said would likely be an “extraordinary” season.
