The first hurricane of this year ’s Atlantic season is sure pee a name for itself , with Beryl now having strengthened to become the earlier family 5 Atlantic hurricane on phonograph recording .

As of 5 am AST , the National Hurricane Centerreportedthat Beryl had maximum free burning winds of 270 kilometers ( 165 miles ) per hour , with even in high spirits blast , charter it firmly into the high family for hurricane strength .

While prognosticator arepredictingthat the hurricane may well weaken subsequently today , they ’ve also say that is “ quite an uncertain forecast ” and that Beryl is probable to remain a “ brawny ” hurricane as it advance across the Caribbean Sea over this week .

Gif of satellite footage of Hurricane Beryl as it moves across the Caribbean

A hurricane the strength of Beryl is unusual for this time of year.Image credit: CIRA/NOAA

Major hurricanes – Category 3 or higher – such as Beryl are well known for thecatastrophic damagethey can cause , which has already been visualize in the regions hit by the storm on Monday .

Several countries in the Caribbean have thousands of residents living without ability and forced into temporary fitting after severe damage to houses . At least one person from St Vincent and the Grenadines isreportedto have died .

Beryl is now continuing its journey toward Jamaica , which has been put under a hurricane warning and is expected to see potentially biography - threatening hint , lumbering rainfall , and show off implosion therapy on Wednesday .

While the Atlantic hurricane season go all the style from June 1 through to November 30 , the first named hurricaneusually formsin early to mid - August , and the first major hurricane between recent August and former September .

Hurricane Beryl has already gone against the metric grain in both cases . First , it organize in previous June – Friday 28 specifically , from a tropical storm . Second , it rapidly reached majorhurricanestatus ; on Sunday , its powerful winds took it into Category 4 , making it the earliest tempest of that lastingness to form in the Atlanticon record , and now the same for Category 5 .

“ hurricane do n’t have intercourse what month it is , they only recognize what their ambient environment is , ” hurricane expert Jim Kossin toldCNN . “ Beryl is fracture records for the calendar month of June because Beryl thinks it ’s September . ”

The posture of the hurricane – and the predicted “ extraordinary ” sleep of the season – is mostly imagine to be down to theEl Niño - Southern Oscillation , with the powerful , water supply - warming El Niño phase now making fashion for hurricane - fuelingLa Niña conditions .

Together with the impact of climate change , and having already seen a decade of increasingly fierce violent storm , some scientist are now indicate that authorities should precede a newfangled family of hurricane : Category 6 .