Hurricane Beryl becomes earliest Category 5 storm on record hours after pummeling Windward Islands

Just hours after Hurricane Beryl pummeled the Windward Islands with devastating winds and a powerful storm surge as major Category 4 storm, Beryl strengthened even further, reaching Category 5 strength on Monday evening and shattering the record for the earliest Category 5 hurricane observed in the Atlantic basin. The National Hurricane Center said Beryl has peak wind speeds of 160 mph as of their 11 p.m.ET Monday update, now classifying the storm on the highest rung of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, and beating Hurricane Emily’s climb to Category 5 status on July 16, 2005. This all comes after the hurricane made landfall on Carriacou Island earlier on Monday. Trees were toppled, power was knocked out and life-threatening storm surge sent water rushing inland across the southern Windward Islands after extremely dangerous Hurricane Beryl made landfall as a high-end Category 4 storm.

The storm produced catastrophic winds, which battered the region as terrified residents hunkered down in their homes and shelters, waiting for the storm’s fury to pass.Hurricane Beryl was a Category 3 hurricane earlier on Monday morning, and with each update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the monster storm’s wind speed kept increasing, its pressure kept dropping, and it eventually reached a high-end Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph before making landfall in Carriacou Island, Grenada.Then came a dire warning from the NHC that residents should remain indoors until the storm had passed.“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the NHC said.“Residents should not leave their shelter and remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions.”The NHC said Hurricane Beryl produced a sustained wind speed of 92 mph at Grenada airport, as well as a devastating wind gust of 121 mph – as strong as a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.St.

Lucia also experienced potentially da...