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Hurricane Beryl strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane yesterday, becoming the earliest on record to reach Category 4 status in the Atlantic. The storm will pass directly over St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada, this morning.
The first hurricane of the season, Beryl rapidly picked up steam over the open ocean, intensifying from a tropical depression to a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) in 42 hours. Meteorologists credited record warm ocean surface temperatures in the region with fueling the system. Beryl is expected to cross the Caribbean Sea midweek, potentially making landfall in Jamaica Wednesday before continuing on to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula (see trajectory).
Hurricane season runs from June through November, but peaks in September—experts estimated this year to be particularly active (see previous write-up), with between four and seven Category 3 storms or higher.