MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Hurricane season begins every year on June 1st, it is pretty abnormal to be talking about major hurricanes this time of the year but, it seems like one storm could be bringing this into the conversation.
Saturday afternoon the National Hurricane Center confirmed the Hurricane Beryl has formed out in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the first hurricane of 2024. It sets the record for the furthest east that a hurricane has formed in the month of June. This area known as the Main Development Region typically sees storms further into the season like August and September. This is no surprise though as ocean temperatures have been very warm going into this tropical season.
The NHC expects Beryl to to move into the Caribbean by the beginning of next week and potentially reach major hurricane status (Category 3 or higher). This is pretty uncommon for this time of the year as wind shear and temperatures are typically not as favorable for this type of development. At this time the storm poses no threat to the US and things will likely stay this way as high pressure pushes the storm to the south.
Other than Beryl, the NHC is watching two other areas for potential tropical development in the next few days. A tropical wave following Beryl has a 70% chances of becoming a system has plenty of model support and will need to be watched.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects 2024 to be an above-average hurricane season due to very warm ocean temperatures along with the potential development of La Nina in the later portions of the Summer.