Beryl has intensified to Category 3 Hurricane: trajectory and affected countries and US states
The United States National Hurricane Center has warned that Beryl will strengthen rapidly. Could it impact the US?
Earlier this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA) reported that their modeling showed that hurricane season would be “above normal.”
With seventy percent confidence, researchers at NOAA expect anywhere between “17 to 25 total named storms” to materialize, and “of those 8 to 13 are forecast to become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 4 to 7 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher).”
On Sunday, the United States National Hurricane Center updated its warning, reporting that Hurricane Beryl is not a Category 3 storm, meaning that the winds exceed 111 miles per hour.
The storm is heading straight for the Lesser Antilles, an area of the Caribbean that typically sees less hurricane activity because of its southern position. Adding concern is that the storm has developed very early in the season, becoming one of the first-named storms to impact that area in June. However, the countries that make up the Windward Islands, one part of the chain, are on high alert, with “life-threatening winds and storm surge expected” to begin on Monday.
Which countries make up the Windward Islands?
- Carriacou
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Martinique
- Petite Martinique
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent.
Could US states be affected?
As of Sunday morning, the US Hurricane Center has been able to forecast which US states could be affected by Beryl. So far, the forecasts show the storm heading for Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, bypassing the southern states that surround the Gulf of Mexico.
As these forecasts are updated, we will bring you the latest.