Hurricane Beryl becomes powerful Category 3 storm as it nears Caribbean islands

Hurricane Beryl is set to become the first Category 3 storm as it churned toward the southeast Caribbean, forecasters warned Sunday morning.

As of 7 a.m. ET, Beryl was located about 420 miles east-southeast of Barbados. It was upgraded to a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and was moving west at 21 mph.

Hurricane warnings are already in effect in Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for Martinique and Tobago, while a stormical storm watch is in effect in Dominica.