Hurricane Beryl morphs into record-breaking Cat 5 storm as it barrels through the Caribbean

MIAMI — Hurricane Beryl intensified Monday night into what forecasters are calling a “potentially catastrophic” Category 5 storm as it ripped off roofs, toppled trees and shut down power after barreling through eastern Caribbean islands — fueled by record warm waters. Beryl is now the earliest Category 5 storm on record to form in the Atlantic.

As of 11 p.m. Monday, Beryl’s winds had increased from 155 mph to 160 mph as the storm made its way to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, the hurricane center said, adding that “some intensity fluctuations are possible in the near term” as it pushes further into the Caribbean.

The storm’s force is just the second time ever that an Atlantic hurricane has hit Category 5 status in July, when Hurricane Emily did the same on July 17, 2005, according the National Hurricane Center.

Beryl made landfall around 11 a.m. Monday on Grenada’s tiny Carriacou Island as the earliest Category 4 storm — a fast, hard punch to an island chain that rarely sees storms of that magnitude, especially this early in the season.

Amid the historic early-season whopper of a storm, power was out throughout Carriacou and nearby islands, many of which were under hurricane and tropical storm warnings. It roared through with 150 mph sustained winds, the high end of Category 4, and brought rain and 6 to 9 feet of storm surge.

“It’s bad and we have not seen the worst yet. The next few hours are going to be worse,” St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told the Miami Herald in an interview around noon Monday. “As it reaches close to us, we will be getting the full effect of the hurricane.”

Beryl’s eye also was clear of the island chain and bound for a potentially destructive brush with Jamaica as of late Monday. It was on a track with sea surface waters so hot they’re running at average September temperatures, as well as a pocket of friendly, storm-aiding winds.

The hurricane center added that the storm had another 24 hours or so of runway ahead, and it could potentially strengthen even further, breaking more records.

However, there was some small encouraging news for Jamaica. Forecasters noted that around Tuesday afternoon atmospheric conditions in the form of stronger wind shear could weaken Beryl down to Category 2 or 3 by the time its eye passes south of the heavily populated island on Wednesday.

Several shifts over the day on Monday nudged the potential track of Beryl’s eye close to Jamaica, which issued a hurricane watch for the island, and the southern coast of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which upgraded their tropical storm watches to warnings Monday evening.

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