The second storm of the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane season and the first one headed for the region is called Beryl. It could become a hurricane by Saturday, but is expected to degenerate into an open trough Sunday while still East of the Eastern Caribbean. Thursday at 5:00pm the tropical cyclone was located a distant 1,460 miles Southeast of St. Maarten and moving due West 16 miles per hour.
Nevertheless, these types of forecasts give rise to vigilance; if nothing else, because of the speed with which the disturbance is expected to lose strength and its proximity when doing so. Remnants of such broken-up systems tend to behave a bit erratically and can also pack quite a punch, while the island remains vulnerable.
Good news is that it regards a rather small cyclone, with storm force winds out 35 miles from the centre. That decreases the chance of a direct, prolonged hit and the system’s general direction also appears well South of the local area.
However, if there are obvious structural weaknesses or other hazards in homes and businesses that can be quickly addressed, now is the time to do it. Then again, the often-brisk winds of the last few months might have been an appropriate test for what could be the impact of Beryl.
Be the latter as it may, it’s always best to prepare for a worst-case scenario.
