Hurricane Beryl takes aim at Windward Islands as Category 4 storm
July 1 (UPI) -- Hurricane Beryl was moving over Carricau Island Monday morning after making landfall in Grenada as a powerful Category 4 storm.
In its 11 a.m. update the National Hurricane Center said Beryl was located 35 miles northeast of Grenada and 15 miles east-southeast of Carricau Island, carrying maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and moving west-norhtwest at 20 mph.
Beryl was expected to move westward quickly returning into the open waters of the Caribbean Sea. Forecasters are predicting that the storm will keep moving west until taking a slight west, northwesterly turn.
"Fluctuations in strength are likely during the next day or so, but Beryl is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane as its core moves through the Windward Islands into the eastern Caribbean," the National Hurricane Center.
"Some weakening is expected in the central Caribbean by midweek, though Beryl is forecast to remain a hurricane."
The center said that hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 40 miles from the center of the eye with tropical-storm-force winds extending up to 125 miles.
While forecasters are predicting some weakening as the storm moves into the central Caribbean, they believe the storm will continue to remain a strong hurricane.
Beryl had slightly weakened to a Category 3 storm with winds of 120 mph, before strengthening again to a Category 4.
"This is a very dangerous situation and residents in these areas should listen to local government and emergency management officials for any preparedness and/or evacuation orders," the NHC said.
"Potentially catastrophic hurricane-force winds, a life-threatening storm surge and damaging waves are expected when Beryl passes over portions of the Windward Islands with the highest risk of the core in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada beginning early Monday morning."
A hurricane warning was in effect for Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadine Islands, Grenada and Tobago and a hurricane watch was in effect for Jamaica.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for Martinique, Trinidad and St. Lucia and a tropical storm watch was in effect or the south coast of the Dominican Republic from Punta Palenque westward to the border with Haiti and the south coast of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Anse d'Hainault.
"Beryl is expected to remain a powerful hurricane as it moves across the Caribbean Sea later this week," it said.
The United States is not expected to be impacted by the storm.
Beryl is the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record in the Atlantic and the only Category 4 storm ever recorded in June.
Only seven named storms have formed over the last 173 years in this sector of the Atlantic before July 4, according to Accuweather.
Alberto, the first tropical storm of the season, made landfall over Mexico on June 20 and then pummeled Texas the next day with rain.
Tropical Storm Chis, the third named storm of the season, made landfall in eastern Mexico late Sunday.
