ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Hurricane Beryl made landfall as a Category 4 storm on Carriacou Island on Monday morning.
It slightly weakened overnight but now has increased winds, the National Hurricane Center said. It remains "extremely dangerous" as it moves toward land, forecasters said.
It's the first-named hurricane of the season and the earliest a Category 4 storm has ever formed in the Atlantic. The previous record for the earliest Category 4 hurricane was Hurricane Dennis on July 8, 2005.
As of the latest advisory, NHC forecasters say "Beryl is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane as it moves over the eastern Caribbean."
Hurricane Beryl is about 125 miles northwest of Grenada and moving 21 mph with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, according to the latest advisory.
There is currently a tropical storm warning in effect for Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadine Islands, St. Lucia, Martinique, the south coast of the Dominican Republic and the south coast of Haiti.
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Jamaica.
Storm surges could raise water levels by as much as 2-4 feet above normal tide levels in areas of onshore winds along the coast of Jamaica.
Storm surges could also raise water levels by as much as 1-3 feet above ground level along with southern coast of Hispaniola.
The hurricane is expected to produce rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches across the Windward Islands through Monday evening. The rainfall may cause flash flooding in vulnerable areas, forecasters said.
Elsewhere in the tropics, Tropical Depression Chris formed Sunday in the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm before making landfall Monday morning over eastern Mexico. Since making landfall, Chris has weakened to a tropical depression. It's expected to weaken as it moves inland and dissipate by Monday evening. In the central Atlantic, forecasters are keeping an eye on Invest 96-L. By the middle of the week, Invest 96-L is expected to become a tropical depression.
The first named storm of the season, Tropical Storm Alberto was named on June 19 when it was close to making landfall over Mexico in the Gulf. It was a relatively short-lived system that quickly weakened to a depression once it made landfall and then dissipated over land.
