Hurricane Beryl, an unusual early-season storm that developed late Friday, intensified into a Category 3 hurricane by Sunday morning.

Forecasters warned that the storm would continue to rapidly strengthen as it moved westward toward the Caribbean Sea. As the first hurricane of the 2024 season, Beryl is expected to bring “life-threatening winds and storm surge” to the Windward Islands, located southeast of Puerto Rico and north of Venezuela, according to the National Hurricane Centre’s Sunday update.

By Sunday morning, Beryl's sustained winds reached 115 miles per hour, making it a “very dangerous” Category 3 hurricane. Forecasters anticipated continued strengthening throughout the day.

A hurricane warning has been issued for Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and Tobago. Martinique is under a tropical storm warning, while Dominica is under a tropical storm watch.

“Beryl is expected to become an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane when it reaches the Windward Islands early Monday,” the National Hurricane Centre reported on Sunday morning. “It will bring destructive hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge.”

Should Beryl reach Category 4 status by Monday, it would set a record for the earliest storm to reach such strength in the Atlantic season. The previous record was held by Hurricane Dennis, which reached Category 4 status on July 8, 2005.

Devastating winds will impact areas where the eye wall of the hurricane passes over the islands. The higher elevations of the islands’ hills and mountains could experience even stronger winds.

According to Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane forecast expert at Colorado State University, Beryl is the third earliest major hurricane to form in the Atlantic. The only hurricanes to form earlier were Alma on June 8, 1966, and Audrey on June 27, 1957.

Both Alma and Audrey made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast, with Alma hitting near St. Marks, Florida, and Audrey near Port Arthur, Texas. Beryl became a tropical storm late Friday when its sustained winds reached 39 miles per hour.

It was classified as a hurricane at 74 miles per hour.