'Beryl thinks it's September:' Why Beryl's rapid intensification is a bad sign for a 'hyperactive' hurricane season

Hurricane Beryl’s rapidly intensifying strength and early arrival are very rare for the Atlantic hurricane season – and a troubling indicator that this season will be far from normal in a world warming due to human-driven climate change.

The storm has already shattered numerous records.

• On Sunday it became the earliest major hurricane – defined as one that is Category 3 or higher – in the Atlantic in 58 years.
• It’s the only hurricane to ever reach Category 4 status in the month of June.
• It’s the strongest known hurricane to pass through the southern Windward Islands according to records dating back to the 1850s.
• Typically, the first major hurricane of the Atlantic season forms in the middle of August, not as early as June.

The ocean water is already as warm as the peak of hurricane season

Hurricane Beryl was able to churn to life because the ocean is as warm now as it would normally be at the peak of hurricane season, said Jim Kossin, a hurricane expert and science advisor at nonprofit First Street Foundation.

“Hurricanes don’t know what month it is, they only know what their ambient environment is,” Kossin told CNN. “Beryl is breaking records for the month of June because Beryl thinks it’s September.”

Climate change and stronger hurricanes

The ocean warm ocean temperatures fueling Beryl’s unprecedented strengthening “certainly have a human fingerprint on them,” Kossin said.

NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) says there is an 85 percent chance of more named storms, more hurricanes and more major hurricanes than the average.

The forecast is NOAA’s most aggressive ever issued ahead of a hurricane season. It predicts:

• 17 to 25 named storms
• 8 to 13 hurricanes
• 4 to 7 major hurricanes (of Category 3 or higher)

Prepare your home, family for hurricane season

Atlantic hurricane season officially begins June 1 and runs through November. Storms can form at any time, but there are precautions the North Carolina residents – from the coast to the mountains – can take ahead of time.

Hurricane-proof your NC home: Essential steps to weather the storm

Inland homes at risk for high winds, flooding during hurricane season. Here’s what you can do now.

Make a family emergency plan: Be prepared when severe weather arrives

2024 hurricane season: What to do when a hurricane is coming

CNN’s Monica Garrett, Abel Alvarado, Brandon Miller, Sahar Akbarzai, Mary Gilbert, Hira Humayun, Robert Shackelford, Isaac Yee, Duarte Mendonca and Manveena Suri contributed to this report.

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