‘Catastrophic Potential’: Hurricane Beryl Strengthens, Moves to Category 5 | World

Cyclone “beryl“, which is advancing across the Caribbean, has gained strength and has been reclassified as a Category 5 – the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The phenomenon, which has already received “extremely dangerous” status, can have wind speeds of up to 260 km/h.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported Monday night (1st) that the hurricane is located about 1,500 kilometers from Jamaica, with “catastrophic possibilities”.

The hurricane is expected to cross Jamaica on Wednesday (3). The National Meteorological Center forecasts heavy rains with the risk of flooding in some areas of the country.

During the week, the hurricane will continue to advance across the Caribbean towards the coast of Mexico, but authorities expect the phenomenon to lose strength as the days go by.

However, warnings were issued for the Cayman Islands, Belize and cities in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico.

Hurricane Beryl is the first major hurricane of the season and the largest hurricane ever recorded for this time of year.

Beryl began forming last week as an instability and was gaining strength. See timeline:

• 🌪️ June 25: Instability begins in the atmosphere, leading to the formation of a storm;
• 🌪️ June 28: What was gaining strength is heading toward the Caribbean and is developing into a tropical storm. So far, the forecast is for winds of 56 km/h.
• 🌪️ June 30: It was classified as a hurricane and entered Category 3 (from a rating of up to 5).
• 🌪️ Still on June 30: It became a category 4 hurricane, with a severe warning, with winds reaching 240 km/h.
• 🌪️ July 1: Reclassified to Category 5.

According to the National Hurricane Center, such a powerful storm at the beginning of the hurricane season, which runs from June to the end of November in the Atlantic Ocean, is extremely rare.

Experts say Beryl gained this much in such a short time because of the boiling of ocean water. Temperatures in the area where the storm formed are up to 3 degrees Celsius above average.

At the end of May, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared that this year’s hurricane season would be “exceptional,” with up to seven Category 3 storms or higher.

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