Beryl becomes first hurricane of 2024 season

One day after it formed into a tropical storm, Beryl is now a hurricane, and forecasters expect it to become a major hurricane in the coming days.

According to an advisory issued at 3 p.m. CDT by the National Hurricane Center, Beryl's eye is approximately 720 miles east-southeast of Barbados, moving westward at 22 miles per hour. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. On Friday morning, Beryl was a tropical depression with only 35-mile-per-hour winds.

NHC meteorologists expect Beryl to intensify into a major hurricane in the coming days. The advisory says Beryl is "expected to bring live-threatening winds and storm surge to the Windward Islands as a major hurricane." The forecast says Beryl is expected to move across the islands last Sunday night into early Monday morning.

"Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 75 mph (120 km/h) with higher gusts," the NHC's public advisory stated. "Continued steady to rapid strengthening is forecast, and Beryl is expected to become a dangerous major hurricane before it reaches the Windward Islands."

The government of Barbados has issued a hurricane warning for that island nation. Hurricane watches are in effect for St. Lucia, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. A tropical storm watch is in place for Martinique, Dominica, and Tobago.

The NHC's forecast discussion that meteorologists are unsure about the storm's track and strength beyond the next four to five days.

"Beyond a couple of days, when Beryl is moving across the Caribbean, an increase in shear should end the strengthening trend and induce some weakening toward the end of the forecast period," forecasters wrote in the discussion. "The intensity models are coming into better agreement on this scenario, and the NHC forecast is roughly near the middle of the guidance envelope."