TS Beryl becomes Cat 1 Hurricane, heads towards Caribbean islands

As Tropical Storm Beryl officially became Hurricane Beryl on Saturday afternoon, more island nations in the Caribbean are issuing advisories and watches.

The Category 1 hurricane is forecasted to bring 'life-threatening winds as well as storm surge' to the Windward Islands as it continues to move towards east, said the National Hurricane Center.

As of 11 pm,Atlantic Standard Time on Friday, the hurricane was about 1,500 miles east of the Caribbean's Windward Islands and it is gaining strength as it moves quickly westward across the Atlantic Ocean.

Forecasters say that Beryl will be near the Caribbean as a major Category 3 hurricane, passing through north of Tobago during the night. According to the latest information, Beryl has formed near Barbados and is pointing its head towards Jamaica. Prime Minister Andrew Holness has sent out an urgent warning for the citizens to start preparing.

He said, "Tropical Storm Beryl has formed in the Atlantic, about 800 miles east of Barbados, and it is heading west quite rapidly."

The Prime Minister further added that Barbados and other eastern Caribbean islands have already put out tropical storm warnings, and it is anticipated that by Monday morning, Beryl will probably have strengthened and will be in the region of Barbados.

Various models have projected that Tropical Storm Beryl will probably impact Jamaica. The experts are saying that if it not a direct impact, it will be in the vicinity of Jamaica and this is expected to bring adverse weather conditions.

PM Holness further noted that by Wednesday morning, the country will be experiencing adverse weather conditions and the relevant agencies will put out the necessary warnings as the system develops.

He addressed the citizens and residents and said, "I am merely giving you advance warning, and this is for you to make some decisions about how you are going to prepare. If this tropical storm strengthens and becomes a hurricane and does impact Jamaica. So I am encouraging all Jamaicans to get your precautionary stocks in place."

It is to be noted that Barbados, Grenada, St Vincent the Grenadines, and Saint Lucia were placed under a hurricane warning yesterday evening, while Tobago and Martinique are under a tropical storm warning. Meanwhile, Dominica remains under a tropical storm watch.