'Dangerous' Hurricane Beryl stalks Caribbean

What happened

Hurricane Beryl strengthened from a tropical storm on Saturday to a "very dangerous" Category 4 hurricane by Sunday evening, threatening Caribbean islands with "life-threatening winds and storm surges," the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Beryl's unusually rapid intensification so early in the season was due largely to ocean waters 3 to 4 degrees warmer than usual for this time of year.

Who said what

Hurricane researchers have warned for months that the 2024 season "could be one for the record books, and now it is," The Washington Post said. The earliest Atlantic hurricane to reach Category 4 previously was Hurricane Dennis on July 8, 2005.

Beryl is an "extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area," hurricane expert Michael Lowry said to The Associated Press . "Unusual is an understatement."

What next?

Beryl is expected to hit the Windward Islands — Grenada, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia and St. Vincent — early Monday and slowly weaken to a tropical depression near the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday night. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted in May that the Atlantic will see an "above normal" 17 to 25 named storms this year , versus 14 in an average season.