Tropical Storm Beryl forms in Atlantic, forecast to strengthen into hurricane

Tropical Storm Beryl chugged toward the southeast Caribbean on Saturday and could strengthen into the year's first hurricane before reaching Barbados late Sunday.

A hurricane watch was issued for Barbados as the island's meteorological service warned of flash flooding and power outages and said the storm's center was forecast to pass some 26 miles (45 kilometers) south of the island.

Early Saturday, Beryl was located about 975 miles (1,570 kilometers) east-southeast of Barbados, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph). It was moving west at 21 mph (33 kph).

"We need to be ready," Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said in a public address late Friday. "You and I know when these things happen, it is better to plan for the worst and pray for the best."

She noted that thousands of people are in Barbados for the Twenty20 World Cup cricket final, with India and South Africa playing in the capital, Bridgetown, on Saturday.

Beryl is the second named storm in what is predicted to be a busy hurricane season , which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 in the Atlantic. Last week, Tropical Storm Alberto brought torrential flooding to portions of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. It was responsible for at least four deaths in the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon and Veracruz, according to the Associated Press.

"The development of a tropical storm this far east in the tropical Atlantic is uncommon, though not unprecedented," wrote Michael Lowry, a Florida-based hurricane expert, in a forecast. "Only five named storms on record have formed in the tropical Atlantic east of the Caribbean."

Of those, only one hurricane of record has formed east of the Caribbean in June, he added.

Mark Spence, manager of a hostel in Barbados, said in a phone interview that he was calm about the approaching storm.

"It's the season. You can get a storm any time," he said. "I'm always prepared. I always have enough food in my house."

Beryl is expected to drop up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain in Barbados and nearby islands, and a high surf warning of waves up to 13 feet (4 meters) was in effect.

The storm is approaching the southeast Caribbean just days after the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago reported major flooding in the capital of Port-of-Spain as a result of an unrelated weather event.

Meanwhile, a no-name storm earlier this June dumped more than 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain on parts of South Florida, stranding numerous motorists on flooded streets and pushing water into some homes in low-lying areas.

According to the National Hurricane Center, the season's first hurricane usually forms in early to mid-August, which would make Beryl unusual if it were to reach hurricane strength. In a report released last month, the NOAA predicted an "above average" hurricane season with 17 to 25 storms, 8 to 13 hurricanes and 4 to 7 major hurricanes of category 3 or higher.

A tropical storm is a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph, while a hurricane is defined as a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds greater than 74 mph.