Hurricane hunters find Beryl’s winds have reached Cat 4 status, strengthening expected

The first hurricane of the season formed continued to strengthen Sunday in the Atlantic and will continue to grow into an even more dangerous system expected to reach islands in the Caribbean late Sunday or Monday, the National Hurricane Center said.

The National Hurricane Center said Sunday that hurricane hunters have found Hurricane Beryl’s winds have reached Category 4 status, with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, with higher gusts.

The National Hurricane Center said Beryl is expected to be an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane when it reaches the Windward Islands early Monday, bringing destructive hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge. Hurricane Warnings are in effect for much of the Windward Islands.

The hurricane is moving west toward the Gulf of Mexico but forecasters warned it is still far too early to tell where Beryl will ultimately go.

A hurricane so early in the season is unusual, Weather Channel Meteorologist Jim Cantore said on social media. Beryl is the first storm in more than 90 years to reach so far east in June, according to The Weather Channel. Forecasters said on average, the first hurricane of a season comes around August 11.

Forecasters predict Beryl will move into the eastern Caribbean Sea on Monday, then track west-northwest toward the Gulf of Mexico.

But The Weather Service said it is “far too soon to tell if Beryl will eventually threaten any part of the U.S. Gulf Coast.”

The National Hurricane Center is tracking two other systems in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic. An area of low pressure and thunderstorms deep in the Atlantic is moving in the same direction as Hurricane Beryl and has a 70 percent chance of development within the week, the NHC said. Additionally, Tropical Depression Three has formed in the Gulf of Mexico.