How Hurricane Beryl Has Made History

Hurricane Beryl has been a historic storm for this early in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and poses an ominous sign for the months ahead.

L​et's list the ways Beryl has grabbed the attention of hurricane experts.

(MORE: Latest, Complete Hurricane Beryl Forecast)

S​trongest July Atlantic hurricane on record: Tuesday morning, Beryl's maximum sustained winds increased to 165 mph, topping the 160-mph peak winds from 2005's Hurricane Emily as the strongest July Atlantic hurricane by wind speed, according to Colorado State University tropical scientist Phil Klotzbach.

E​arliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record: On Monday night, Beryl became the earliest hurricane to reach Category 5 strength on record in the Atlantic Basin. Incredibly, it beat the previous record by more than two weeks, according to University of Miami tropical scientist Brian McNoldy.

The previous earliest Category 5 was Hurricane Emily on July 16 during the hyperactive 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Record warm water temperatures more typical of mid-September likely catapulted Beryl's intensity.

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S​trongest near southern Windwards: Beryl made landfall just after 11 a.m. EDT Monday over the Grenadan island of Carriacou with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. Among only two other Category 4 hurricanes in history near Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Beryl was the strongest by wind speed.

E​arliest 150-mph hurricane in any season: On July 1, Beryl also became the earliest Atlantic hurricane on record with winds of at least 150 mph. That happened a full week earlier than the previous record earliest 150-mph hurricane, Dennis on July 8, 2005, according to Colorado State University tropical scientist Phil Klotzbach. It's also the farthest south 150-mph-plus hurricane of record in the Atlantic Basin.

First June Category 4 hurricane: Beryl gained Category 4 intensity Sunday morning, June 30, making it the record earliest Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic Basin. Hurricane Dennis in 2005 gained Cat. 4 intensity on July 7 between Jamaica and Cuba. Only three other hurricanes dating to the mid-19th century gained Cat. 4 intensity prior to August.

E​asternmost "major" June hurricane on record: On Sunday morning, Beryl rapidly intensified to Category 3 intensity.

Not only did that become only the third June hurricane to reach that intensity in the Atlantic Basin, but it did so roughly 2,000 miles farther east than 1966's Hurricane Alma did in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Previously, the earliest Category 3 or stronger hurricane in July to have occurred east of the longitude of the Lesser Antilles was Hurricane Bertha on July 7-8, 2008, though that occurred much farther north. So, Beryl's Category 3 strength occurred a week earlier than Bertha east of the Antilles.

T​ropical depression to major hurricane happened unusually fast: Given its tiny size and unusually favorable early-season environment, Beryl explosively intensified from a tropical depression to major (Category 3+) hurricane in just 42 hours from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning.

A​ccording to meteorologist Sam Lillo, that T.D. to Cat. 3 intensification in such a short time had happened only six other times in the Atlantic Basin. None of those previous occurrences happened prior to September, when the conditions are typically most favorable in the heart of hurricane season.

L​illo also noted the 75 mph intensification in 36 hours had never previously happened in June, and only twice in July.

W​hen it usually happens: The season's first hurricane usually holds off until late July or early August, leading into the first of three months with the most activity. According to the National Hurricane Center, the season's first Category 3 or stronger hurricane usually happens by Sept. 1, two months later than Beryl.

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Beryl a danger sign: The fact that Beryl not only became a tropical storm, but rapidly developed into a major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles, then a Cat. 5 this early is a warning sign for the rest of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.

The same worrisome factors we've been monitoring this spring and early summer are still in place.

-​ Ocean water is record warm for this time of year in much of the basin, from Africa to the Caribbean Sea. All other factors equal, warmer water will support stronger hurricanes.

-​ A La Niña is likely to develop later in the season. That usually makes the atmosphere more supportive for tropical storms and hurricanes and could also steer more storms toward the U.S. instead of curling out to sea like last year.

M​ORE ON WEATHER.COM

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-​ Hurricane Season Terms You Need To Know

-​ How Climate Change Is Affecting Hurricanes

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. His lifelong love of meteorology began with a close encounter with a tornado as a child in Wisconsin. He completed a Bachelor's degree in physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then a Master's degree working with dual-polarization radar and lightning data at Colorado State University. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on X (formerly Twitter), Threads, Facebook and Bluesky.