Brits dreaming of sun-soaked Caribbean escapes are being warned by the Foreign Office about a hurricane alert that’s serious enough to threaten lives. The government has updated its travel advice for nine Caribbean destinations favoured by UK holidaymakers, as an imminent hurricane warning is declared, set to lash the islands.
The Foreign Office’s most recent update on its website singles out those planning trips to St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Barbados, Dominica, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda with a clear message: “The hurricane season runs from June to November. You should follow and monitor local and international weather updates from the US National Hurricane Center and follow the advice of local authorities, including any evacuation orders.”
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This comes as forecasters warn of tropical storm Beryl’s potential to strengthen into a devastating major hurricane, anticipated to strike Barbados by late Sunday or early Monday. As of Saturday, Beryl was moving towards the southeast Caribbean, classified as a ‘big storm’ with winds expected to surpass 111 mph (178 kph), indicating a category 3 hurricane or higher.
Beryl is on track to become the second major hurricane of the season, which runs from June 1 to November 30 in the Atlantic. The eye of Hurricane Beryl is predicted to pass a mere 26 miles south of Barbados, according to Sabu Best, head of the island’s meteorological services.
With wind gusts reaching up to 65 mph, Beryl was pinpointed around 785 miles southeast of Barbados on Saturday. The hurricane is advancing westward at a pace of 23 mph, as per reports by the Express, reports the Mirror.
Hurricane warnings have been declared for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, while Martinique, Dominica, and Tobago are on alert for a tropical storm. Michael Lowry, a Florida-based hurricane specialist, commented on X: “It’s astonishing to see a forecast for a major (Category 3+) hurricane in June anywhere in the Atlantic, let alone this far east in the deep tropics. #Beryl organising in a hurry over the warmest waters ever recorded for late June.”
On Saturday, Beryl was tracked about 720 miles east-southeast of Barbados, with maximum sustained winds of 75mph, moving west at 22mph. “Rapid strengthening is now forecast,” announced the National Hurricane Centre in Miami.
Warm ocean water is fuelling Beryl, with the heat content in the deep Atlantic hitting record highs for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, a tropical meteorology specialist at the University of Miami.
Beryl has been noted as the most potent June tropical storm in that part of the tropical Atlantic, says Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University.
“We need to be ready,” Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley warned during a public address on Friday. “You and I know when these things happen, it is better to plan for the worst and pray for the best.”