
Much of the southeast Caribbean was on alert late Saturday 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 595 miles (955 kilometers) east of Barbados -- would become a "dangerous major hurricane" by the time it reached the Windward Islands late Sunday into Monday.