Hurricane Beryl quickly strengthened to “an extremely dangerous Category 4” storm on Sunday, with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warning of “potentially catastrophic hurricane-force winds,” life-threatening storm surge and damaging waves headed for the southeast Caribbean. Beryl’s emergence marks an early start to the 2024 Atlantic season, which typically doesn’t begin until July or August, and its strength and rapid intensification is record setting. Here’s what you need to know.

🌊 Beryl officially a Category 4

On Sunday morning, Beryl was a Category 3. Five hours later it was classified as a Category 4 with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour. The NHC said it expects the storm to continue to strengthen into “a dangerous major hurricane,” warning of heavy rainfall and flooding in parts of the Windward Islands, the southern part of the Caribbean island chain that includes Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, on Sunday night and into Monday.

Heavy rainfall, “destructive hurricane-force winds” and localized flooding are expected, according to the NHC.

Thanks to record warmwater temperatures for this time of year, Beryl rapidly intensified from a tropical depression on Friday to a tropical storm on Saturday morning, before it was upgraded to a hurricane hours later.

☔️ Where will Hurricane Beryl make landfall?

As of 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, the NHC warned that Beryl is expected to bring “potentially catastrophic wind damage” when it passes over parts of the Windward Islands, with St. Vincent, the Grenadines and Grenada facing “the highest risk of the core.” The storm is predicted to move across the southeastern and central Caribbean Sea late Monday through Wednesday.

The NHC predicts that Beryl will produce 3 to 6 inches of rain across Barbados and the Windward Islands Sunday night into Monday, and warns of flash flooding. Residents and visitors are urged to prepare today.

Beryl’s path later in the week is uncertain.

⚠️ Hurricane warnings in effect across southeast Caribbean

Hurricane watches and warnings are in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, the Grenadines, Grenada and Tobago. Martinique is under a tropical storm warning. Dominica and Trinidad are under a tropical storm watch. The northwestern Caribbean should monitor closely.

⛈️ Other areas could be affected

Puerto Rico may experience showers and thunderstorms with 1 to 4 inches of rain over the southeast region from Monday night into Tuesday. The NHC says 2 to 6 inches of rain are also possible in parts of southern Hispaniola on Tuesday night into Wednesday.

➡️ Experts shocked at Beryl’s rapid intensification

Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist and storm surge expert, told the Associated Press that this rapidly developing June hurricane is a “very serious threat.”

“Beryl is an extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area,” he said in a phone interview with the AP. “Unusual is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane and it hasn’t struck yet.”

The last strong hurricane to affect the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan in September 2004. Ivan battered Grenada as a Category 3 and killed 39 people.

Hurricane Beryl is the earliest Category 4 on record in the Atlantic.

🌎 The start of a busy Atlantic hurricane season

Experts agree that this could be one of the busiest hurricane seasons on record. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in May that it expected eight to 13 hurricanes in the Atlantic, with four to seven of them classified as major hurricanes, meaning at least 111 mph winds.