Tropical Storm Beryl formed, as we discussed on Friday, and rapidly became the first hurricane of this explosive new hurricane season. In short order, Beryl became a Major Hurricane and is currently a Category 4 with winds about 130 mph. Beryl is moving through the Windward Islands as it steams through the Atlantic into the Caribbean in response to a super strong Bermuda High that is the major influence on its west-northwest path.
The storm is yet another rapidly intensifying storm going from a tropical storm to a Category 4 in just one day. This trend of rapid Intensification makes hurricanes today much more of a threat than ever before. Supercharged initial conditions are in place and the hurricane season is off to a fast start. More on this below.
As climate records continue to be broken across the world every day in this record hot climate, here are a few firsts for Beryl.
- The first tropical storm to form so far east in the Atlantic (off the coast of Africa) in June
- The first hurricane to form so far east in the Atlantic in June
- The first major hurricane to form from a wave coming off Africa in June and one of only 3 major hurricanes to form in June
- The first ever Category 4 ever to form in the entire Atlantic Basin (the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico) in June, making Beryl the strongest June hurricane on record
Waves moving off Africa usually develop in August and September, but this is an unusual year and part of the reason the CAC is recommending extreme vigilance this hurricane season.
Wait, there is more!
Tropical Storm Chris formed in the extreme SW Gulf of Mexico Sunday evening. Chris made landfall in the state of Veracruz in Mexico just before midnight local time. By 8 am, the storm had weakened into a tropical depression. The storm is bringing heavy rain and flooding over portions of eastern Mexico this morning.
Invest 96L is another storm developing right now, in about the same area where Beryl formed on Friday. I expect the system to become Tropical Storm Debby in the next day or so and potentially the second hurricane and 4th named storm of of this early 2024 season.
Also, remember the storm that struck the Sarasota area just two weeks ago? It was unnamed, but produced record rainfall and a 500 -1000 year flooding event.
If there is good news here, it is this. The path of these storms will likely keep them from being a threat to Florida as it looks now. But, the remainder of the Gulf Coast is not out of the woods. Interests in Mexico and Texas should be extra alert in the days ahead.
2024 storm names
If. you subscribe to our email list at the bottom of this article, hurricane updates will be sent to your email mailbox when something significant happens in the tropics or when a storm threatens Southwest Florida.
You can also read our entire 2024 CAC Hurricane Season forecast here. The CAC predicts 24 named storms, 12 hurricanes and 6 major hurricanes. Thus far, there have been 3 named storms, 1 hurricane and 1 major hurricane.
The article provides an in-depth look at the science behind the 2024 Hurricane Season Forecast presented at the CAC “Hurricane Day” event at USF Sarasota-Manatee that was held on April 4th, 2024.
The event featured presentations by Bob Bunting, CAC CEO; Ric Kearbey CAC Senior Scientist; Guillermo Franco, Managing Director, Guy Carpenter Reinsurance; and Tom Lewis, President and Chief Operating Officer, Tidal Basin Group.