Hurricane Beryl forecast to become a Category 4 storm as it nears southeast Caribbean

Tropical Storm Beryl, the second named storm of the season, is headed for the Caribbean and forecast to become a Category 4 hurricane early Monday.

As of 8 a.m. Sunday, Beryl was a Category 3 about 420 miles east of Barbados. The storm was moving west at about 21 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, according to forecasters with the National Hurricane Center.

Tampa Bay meteorologists say Beryl poses no immediate threat to Florida. It’s too soon to tell where the storm might make landfall.

Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadine Islands, Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago.

While most of the Atlantic’s “Hurricane Alley” is swathed in storm-dampening Saharan dust this week, Beryl was able to spin up from a pocket that lacked much of that hot, dry air.

But sea surface temperatures in the deep Atlantic are running at temperatures normally seen in September. Hot water is fuel for storms, and it’s one reason why the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted this storm season could potentially be the most active on record.

Tropical Storm Alberto was the first storm of the season. It made landfall in Mexico on June 20 and killed at least four people before weakening and dissipating.

Information from the Miami Herald was used in this report.

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