Beryl earliest Category 5 hurricane in Atlantic on record: Moody’s RMS
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Hurricane Beryl achieved Category 5 major hurricane intensity, July 2, the earliest Category 5 major hurricane on record to occur in the North Atlantic Basin, according to a blog Wednesday from Moody’s RMS.
Beryl is expected to pass very near or over Jamaica on July 3 as a Category 4 major hurricane and then near the Cayman Islands overnight into July 4 as a Category 3 major hurricane.
Hurricane Beryl is only the second reported Category 5 major hurricane on record in July. The only other Category 5 major hurricane in July was Hurricane Emily on July 17, 2005, according to RMS.
The most recent forecast from the National Hurricane Center calls for Beryl to be near the west coast of the Yucatán Peninsula as a Category 2 hurricane.
The storm is then expected to emerge over the southern Gulf of Mexico on July 6, with current guidance indicating Beryl likely will be a tropical storm at this point.
Beryl’s accomplishments include being the easternmost hurricane to form in June; being the strongest hurricane in June; being the earliest Category 4 hurricane and the southernmost Category 4 hurricane; and being the earliest Category 5 hurricane, according to RMS.
“With both sea surface temperatures and oceanic heat content at or near record levels across much of the tropical North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea, these environmental conditions were favorable for Beryl’s development,” Sarah Hartley, director of Moody’s RMS Event Response, said in a statement.
