Yahoo News Hurricane Beryl path: First named hurricane of 2018 surges towards Caribbean
The first hurricane of the 2018 season has formed in the Atlantic, packing winds of 75mph.
Hurricane Beryl was upgraded from a tropical storm on Friday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami said.
At 5am local time, forecasters said Beryl was surging towards the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, where it is expected to hit on Sunday evening.
The powerful storm was located just over 1,000 miles east-southeast of the islands on Friday morning.
#Beryl looks like a small area of cloud in mid-Atlantic, but has developed hurricane strength winds very close to the centre of its circulation and has become the first #hurricane of the Atlantic season. pic.twitter.com/cSF8Rfd5zz
— Met Office Storms (@metofficestorms) July 6, 2018
Beryl is expected to encounter wind shear upon reaching the Lesser Antilles before weakening near the eastern islands of the Caribbean.
Forecasters say it should fizzle out quickly and become a tropical storm by early next week.
Remnants of the storm are expected to bring strong winds and heavy rains to parts of the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Hurricane Beryl's small eye has become apparent in infrared satellite pictures early this morning. The latest forecast information can be found at: https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/MRyNzUaJyN
— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) July 6, 2018
Because it is a very small hurricane, its exact intensity and movements are difficult to predict, the NHC said.
Beryl became a tropical depression and then a tropical storm on Thursday.
The hurricane season officially started on June 1.
Florida, Alabama and Mississippi all declared states of emergency when the first named storm of the season, Alberto, struck the US days before.
