TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Hurricane Beryl is strengthening to the west of the Windward Islands and Barbados in the open waters of the Atlantic. As of Saturday evening at 11pm EDT, it has maximum sustained winds of 85 mph.
It is expected to become a major Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds as high as 125 miles per hour before impacts the Windward Islands during the day on Monday. Afterwards, high pressure to the north will mean Beryl will continue westward in the Caribbean Sea throughout the week. While wind shear and some dry air is expected to help weaken the storm in the western Caribbean, it is still expected to remain a hurricane through the end of the week.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic, a low pressure system has a 50% chance of developing into a tropical depression or storm over the next 48 hours over the Bay of Campeche in the southwestern Gulf before moving onshore Mexico. This will be no impact to the Big Bend or South Georgia.
Another system behind Beryl currently off the west coast of Africa has a 30% chance of developing into a tropical cyclone over the next 48 hours, however those odds increase to 70% over the next 7 days. Like Beryl, this system will continue westward due to high pressure to the north, steering it towards the Caribbean Sea later next week. Interests on the Caribbean islands should watch Beryl and the system behind it closely.
Right now, there is no immediate threat to the Big Bend and South Georgia from any of these systems. However, Beryl and the system behind it are so far out in the Atlantic that any impacts wouldn't arrive in our area until at earliest a week from now. The existence of storms out in the Atlantic should serve as a reminder to make preparations for this hurricane season now in case a storm does near our area.
