Hurricane Beryl is expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to the Windward Islands, the southern part of the Lesser Antilles island group in the Caribbean Sea, early Monday.
The storm has rapidly intensified to a Category 4 hurricane reaching maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded in June.
Storm surges could reach six to nine feet above normal tide levels near where Beryl makes landfall with sizable and destructive waves along the coast. Expected rainfall totals are 3 to 6 inches across Barbados and the Windward Islands through Monday, which could cause flooding in vulnerable areas.
Beryl is the first hurricane of the season and one of the few storms in history to have formed in the region this early in the year, according to the National Hurricane Center.
