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Map from National Hurricane Centre shows the arrival time of tropical storm force winds from Hurricane Beryl (Credit: NHC) |
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Beryl – the first named storm of this year – is tearing through the Caribbean, shattering records and sounding the alarm for the Atlantic hurricane season that lies ahead, amid record high ocean heat.
Within minutes Beryl tore through Grenada, blasting through buildings, knocking out power and phone service to almost all of the island's residents, and killing at least one person.
Follow our live coverage of Hurricane Beryl here.
Officials received "widespread reports of destruction and devastation in Carriacou and Petite Martinique," Grenada prime minister Dickon Mitchell said on Monday.
"In half an hour, Carriacou was flattened." Mr Mitchell said.
On Tuesday, Beryl was heading towards Jamaica, bringing maximum sustained winds of 165mph (270km/h), the National Hurricane Centre said.
The island is under a Hurricane Warning, with several other governments also sounding alarms, asking residents to take shelter.
On Sunday, airports were shut down, flights were cancelled, offices were closed and Carnival festivities were postponed.
A computer model of Hurricane Beryl's many possible paths, known as a "spaghetti" model, showed the potential path the destructive storm, blowing into the Gulf Coast, near eastern Texas and Louisiana.
However, meteorologists will not be able to make a definitive call about Hurricane Beryl's potential impact on the US until it is much closer.
Beryl is on an unusually southern path, especially for a major hurricane, said University at Albany atmospheric scientist Kristen Corbosiero.
The storm continues to shatter records as it kicks off an exceptionally early hurricane season – becoming the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record and only the second Atlantic storm of such strength to be recorded in July.
Earlier, Beryl intensified quickly over the bathtub-warm waters of Atlantic and reached Category 4, becoming the first-ever storm on record to reach that strength in June.
Scientists had already raised alarms over an unusually busy hurricane season this year as Atlantic waters have been unusually hot since March 2023.
Warm water acts as fuel for the thunderstorms and clouds that form hurricanes.
Sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic and Caribbean are currently above what they usually are in September, the peak season for hurricanes.
Meanwhile, a forecast for Beryl posted by weather agency AccuWeather on X was labelled as "false information" by the social media platform.
Meteorologists told The Independent the site instead allowed other obvious misinformation on the site – a decision, they said, that could cost lives.
More climate news this week from The Independent
Biden says Trump will 'undo' progress on tackling climate crisis
Seven dead after violent storms cause flooding in Switzerland, France and Italy
Delhi's heavy rains claim 11 lives amid record-breaking downpours just days after deadly heat
Nepal landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains kill nine
Nearly 5 billion people lived under extreme temperatures in June, study finds
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"Beryl is unprecedentedly strange. It is so far outside the climatology that you look at it and you say, 'How did this happen in June?' |
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