Hurricane Beryl was a Category 4 storm Monday morning as it approached the Caribbean islands of St. Vincent, the Grenadines, Grenada, and Carriacou and Petite Martinique islands – the first-ever hurricane recorded during the month of June. By Tuesday morning, the storm had strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest July Atlantic hurricane on record, breaking the previous record of 160 mph max winds set by Hurricane Emily in 2005, records show. Sea surface temperatures are at record highs, with temperatures in the Atlantic, where hurricanes form, measuring two or three degrees Celsius higher than normal in the Caribbean Sea, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The current temperatures are typical for September, not for the start of July.
I guess it will take a series of Hurricanes to hit Florida to ram home the climate change message in the USA. Maybe Mar-a-Lago being trashed would be effective, but no doubt Trump would blame Biden or the CIA or FBI!
Overall, NOAA gives an 85% chance of an above-average season. It would be the eighth season in the last 10 to be above the 1991-2020 average. Another measurement in NOAA’s hurricane forecasting toolkit is Accumulated Cyclone Energy Index (ACE), which measures the combined intensity and duration of all named storms.