Hurricane Beryl is a historic storm. Here's why.

Hurricane Beryl, which has been lashing the southeastern Caribbean with life-threatening winds and flooding this week, made history before it even made landfall. 

When Beryl strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane Sunday morning, it become the first major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles on record for June, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.

It took Beryl only 42 hours to strengthen from a tropical depression to a major hurricane — a feat accomplished only six other times in Atlantic hurricane history, and with Sept. 1 as the previous earliest date, hurricane expert Sam Lillo said.

Beryl then gained more power, becoming the earliest Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record and then, on July 1, the earliest to reach Category 5. 

"Beryl is an extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area,"  hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry said in a phone interview. 

"Unusual is an understatement," he said, calling it a "historic" hurricane.

Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was the last strong hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage in Grenada as a Category 3 storm.

"So this is a serious threat, a very serious threat," Lowry said of Beryl.

Beryl amassed its strength from record-warm waters that are hotter now than they would be at the peak of hurricane season in September, he said. 

Warmer oceans drive tropical cycles, which is an umbrella term encompassing both hurricanes and tropical storms. The warm waters in this case served as a source of energy for Beryl, fueling its development from a tropical storm into a major hurricane. That progression was also partly due to the fact that there wasn't a lot of wind shear in the region — a consequence of the La Niña weather pattern that's expected to arrive soon — which can help to break up and lessen storms. The lack of wind shear associated with La Niña is a factor that contributes to the intense hurricane seasons that can be seen during this phase of the climate cycle.

Most major hurricanes intensify quickly, with 170 tropical storms that have made landfall since 1980 experiencing rapid intensification. That's defined as an increase in the maximum sustained wind speeds of a tropical cyclone by at least 30 knots, or about 35 mph, over the course of 24 hours. Of the 56 tropical cyclones that have resulted in at least $1 billion in damages in the U.S. between 1980 and 2021, 73% experienced rapid intensification.

Among those weathering the storm was Jaswinderpal Parmar of Fresno, California, who had traveled to Barbados for Saturday's Twenty20 World Cup final, cricket's biggest event. He and his family were now stuck there with scores of other fans, their flights canceled on Sunday.

He said by phone that it's the first time he has experienced a hurricane, with heavy rain starting at midnight. He and his family have been praying, as well as taking calls from concerned friends and family as far away as India.

"We couldn't sleep last night," Parmar, 47, said. "We were keeping an eye on it." 

Long lines formed at gas stations and grocery stores in Barbados and other islands as people rushed to prepare for the storm that rapidly intensified. Peter Corbin, 71, helped his son put up plywood to protect his home's glass doors. He said by phone that he worried about Beryl's impact on islands just east of Barbados.

"That's like a butcher cutting up a pig," he said. "They've got to make a bunker somewhere. It's going to be tough."

In St. Lucia, Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre announced a national shutdown for Sunday evening and said schools and businesses would remain closed Monday.

"Preservation and protection of life is a priority," he said.

Caribbean leaders were preparing not only for Beryl, but for a cluster of thunderstorms trailing the hurricane that had a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression.

Beryl is the second named storm in what is forecast to be an above-average hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 in the Atlantic. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto came ashore in northeastern Mexico with heavy rains that resulted in four deaths.

On Sunday evening, a tropical depression formed near the eastern Mexico coastal city of Veracruz, with the National Hurricane Center warning of flooding and mudslides.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

CBS News climate producer Tracy Wholf contributed reporting.

In:
• Hurricane Beryl
• Hurricane