2024's First Hurricane, 'Beryl', Bears Down On Caribbean

Warning the storm was "getting stronger", the NHC forecast it would become a "dangerous major hurricane" by the time it hit Caribbean communities.

Much of the southeast Caribbean was on alert Sunday as Beryl strengthened into the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, with forecasters warning it will swiftly become a major storm.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Beryl -- currently churning in the Atlantic Ocean about 530 miles (850 kilometers) east of Barbados -- was expected to bring "life-threatening winds and storm surge" when it reached the Windward Islands early Monday.

Warning the storm was "getting stronger", the NHC forecast it would become a "dangerous major hurricane" by the time it hit Caribbean communities.