Hurricane Beryl, the second named storm of the season and first named hurricane, is forecasted to bring winds of up to 155mph and a storm surge of between 1.8 metres to three metres.
The Foreign Office has advised Brits staying in Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Dominica to monitor local and international weather updates.
Virgin Atlantic said it had cancelled flights to Barbados and the connecting flights to Saint Vincent due to adverse weather conditions from Hurricane Beryl.
"We are working with the relevant airports and partners to minimise disruption to our services, however some flights are subject to delays and cancellations due to the closure of Barbados airport," a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said.
“We are contacting affected customers regarding their travel arrangements. We’d like to thank them for their patience and understanding and recommend that all customers due to travel to or from Barbados airport over the next 48 hours check the status of their flight on virginatlantic.com before going to the airport."
The spokesperson added: "The safety and comfort of our customers and people is always our top priority.”
A British Airways flight on Monday (1 July) using Saint Lucia’s Hewanorra international airport has also been cancelled.
AccuWeather lead hurricane forecaster Alex DaSilva warned: “It’s rare to see a storm rapidly intensify this fast, this early in the season, in this part of the Atlantic. Several islands across the Lower Antilles are facing an extreme risk to lives and property.”
Forecasters said Hurricane Beryl already had winds of 130mph as it headed towards towards the western Caribbean islands. They anticipate it will develop into a category four storm.
Hurricane Beryl is expected to bring damaging winds, heavy rain and a storm surge to parts of the tropical Atlantic over the next few days pic.twitter.com/YJpsrwHd1z
— Met Office (@metoffice) June 30, 2024
They predict that by the time the storm hits the Windward Islands – made up of Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – there will be “hurricane-force” winds, a “life-threatening” storm surge and heavy rainfall.
Beryl follows Tropical Storm Alberto, which made landfall in the north-east Mexico on 20 June and killed four people.
The Foreign Office on Monday (1 July) issued a separate warning for Mexico about the passage of Tropical Storm Chris, which made landfall in eastern Mexico on Sunday (30 June).
"A tropical storm warning remains in place along the coast between Veracruz and Tampico," said the FCDO. "There is a risk of heavy rains and flooding across eastern Mexico, as well as of landslides in higher terrain. Follow the guidance of local authorities."
Hurricanes are categorised on a scale of one to five – with category five storms carrying the most extreme winds of in excess of 155mph.
Hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November, is predicted to be a busy one this year, forecasters have said.
Hurricane Beryl is understood to be one of the earliest arrivals of the storms the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned of.
Forecasters believe there could be up to 25 named storms this year, whereas in 2023 there were 19 named storms.
