The Foreign Office has issued a stark warning to Brits planning holidays to nine popular destinations, cautioning that ignoring the advice could have life-threatening consequences. The new guidance comes in response to a hurricane alert set to impact the Caribbean today, with potential evacuations on the horizon.
The updated travel advice, posted on the Foreign Office’s website, applies to those considering trips to St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Barbados, Dominica, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda.
Officials stated: ” Weather projections forecast a major hurricane to hit the region possibly as early as Sunday 30 June and into the following week. 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. See Extreme weather and natural disasters.”
They added: “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.”
The latest update has forecasters on high alert as tropical storm Beryl is expected to escalate into a major hurricane, with the potential to become deadly before it hits Barbados. The anticipated landfall is set for late Sunday or early Monday, with the storm currently advancing towards the southeast Caribbean as of Saturday, reports the Express.
A major storm is categorised by winds reaching at least 111 mph (178 kph), which corresponds to category 3 or higher.
Beryl could mark the second significant event in this year’s hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30 in the Atlantic. Sabu Best, who heads the meteorological department on the island, predicts that the centre of Beryl will pass about 26 miles (45 kilometres) south of Barbados.
As of Saturday, Beryl was packing gusts up to 65 mph (100 kph) and was located around 785 miles (1,260 km) southeast of Barbados, moving westward at a speed of 37 kph (23 mph).
Hurricane watches have been declared for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Additionally, Martinique, Dominica, and Tobago are under a tropical storm watch.
Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist based in Florida, expressed his astonishment 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 pinpointed approximately 720 miles east-south-east of Barbados, boasting maximum sustained winds of 75mph and moving west at a speed of 22mph. “Rapid strengthening is now forecast,” warned the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre.
Beryl’s power is being boosted by warm waters, with ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic currently at its highest on record for this time of year, as noted by Brian McNoldy, a tropical meteorology researcher at the University of Miami.
Beryl has set a new record as the strongest June tropical storm that far east in the tropical Atlantic, according to Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University.
“We need to be ready,” urged Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley 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.”