Published on June 30, 2024 at 3:32 p.m.
In just a few hours, Tropical Storm Beryl has caused a surprise effect by becoming a major hurricane. Beryl continues to intensify and the surprise effect is giving way to a feeling of dread, for the inhabitants of the regions it will strike.
Beryl doesn’t want us to forget her name
The current famous tropical system, now known as Beryl (the second tropical storm to receive a name this year) continues its progression, which is surprising to say the least. Although Beryl was initially just a tropical storm, in just a few hours it was able to prove that it has a huge amount of power in the bank… Indeed, due to the unusually warm waters it is passing through, Beryl passed from tropical storm to a category 2 hurricane, in less than 24 hours (between Saturday 11 a.m. and Sunday 5 a.m.). Worse: during the morning of Sunday, it reached the stage of category 3 hurricane… before rising to category 4, just before noon!
We are talking about rapid intensification, yes, and these are not just words thrown into the air! What are the criteria for qualifying such a system as rapid intensification? In particular, its winds must experience an increase of 48 km/h in less than 24 hours. In the case of Beryl, its winds changed their strength at an impressive rate, reaching an increase of 115 km/h in 24 hours.
Directly in Beryl’s path
Beryl is on an incredible run, having officially reached Category 4 hurricane status before even making landfall in the West Indies, which is expected by Monday morning (July 1). Moreover, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Tobago are on hurricane alert. Note that Beryl’s trajectory, in the longer term, remains uncertain. Subsequently, it should also lose intensity.
Possible major impacts
Significant amounts of rain are expected in the locations Beryl plans to visit. Locally, nearly 300 mm of rain is expected to fall by Monday evening. Floods, flash floods and landslides are therefore to be expected.
Then, gusts which could exceed 220 km/h are possible. These strong winds will cause widespread outages and damage. Add to this storm surges, that is to say a rise in water levels which could reach up to 2 m above the normal level. Residents of the affected regions can unfortunately expect to see sad images of destruction following Beryl’s passage…
A little page of history
The third earliest major hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl follows in the footsteps of Alma (June 8, 1966) and Audrey (June 27, 1957). Last-minute feat: by becoming a category 4 hurricane on June 30, Beryl has just shattered the “precocity” record established by Hurricane Dennis on July 8, 2005!
With the collaboration of Alexandra Giroux, meteorologist.
