'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Beryl could grow to monster Category 4 as it rapidly intensifies and heads toward Caribbean

Hurricane Beryl has been upgraded to a 'very dangerous' Category 3 storm by the National Hurricane Center as it barrels toward the southeast Caribbean.

It's the first major storm of the season and has gained steam very quickly, strengthening from a tropical depression into a tropical storm and then a hurricane within just 24 hours. 

The National Hurricane Center expects Beryl to become a Category 4 by the time it hits the Windward Islands by late Sunday or early Monday.

As of 8 am ET, Beryl was about 420 miles east-southeast of Barbados. It's currently traveling west with maximum wind speeds of 115 miles per hour, according to an advisory from the center.

Hurricane warnings are in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadine Islands, Grenada and Tobago.

'Devastating wind damage is expected where the eyewall of Beryl moves through portions of the Windward Islands,' the center wrote in its advisory. 

'A life-threatening storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 6 to 9 feet above normal tide levels in areas of onshore flow near where Beryl makes landfall in the hurricane warning area.'

The hurricane continues to gather power over the Atlantic Ocean, its winds having strengthened from 35 miles per hour to 75 miles per hour in less than 24 hours.

Authorities are telling residents in the soon-to-be-affected islands to shelter in place to protect themselves from the onslaught of wind and storm surges.

The center also expects 3 to 6 inches of total rainfall to cause flooding on the Windward Islands on Sunday and into Monday. 

A less severe tropical storm warning has been issued for Martinique, while a tropical storm watch is in effect for Dominica. 

The next hurricane advisory is scheduled to drop at 11 am ET.

After impacting the Windward Islands, Beryl is expected to make landfall on southeastern Puerto Rico by Monday night and into Tuesday, bringing with it one to four inches of rain.

By Wednesday afternoon, Beryl should be in the vicinity of Jamaica, and by the end of the week, its center could be near the Yucatan Peninsula or Central America - though it remains unclear whether the storm system will enter the Gulf of Mexico. 

For now, forecasters still believe that this hurricane likely won't make a direct impact with the continental United States. 

'Direct impacts to the United States look unlikely; however it is very important to note that if the high pressure across the southeast weakens, that can allow the storm to move farther north and potentially directly impact the Gulf Coast,' Accuweather Lead Hurricane Forecaster Alex DaSilva said.

Hurricane Beryl has already broken records, as it formed earlier in the season than most storm systems.

The average date for the first hurricane of the summer is August 11, Fox reports.

And even of those that have formed in June, Beryl has formed the furthest east in the Atlantic Ocean since records began in the mid-1800s.

The previous record was held by Hurricane Two, which formed in 1933 off the coast of South America.

It's also incredibly rare for storms as powerful as Beryl to form this early. 

Most hurricanes that form near the end of June or early July start off as tropical storms and sometimes strengthen into Category 1 systems, according to NOAA records.

If Beryl reaches the Category 4 intensity - winds of 131 to 155 miles per hour - by July 4, it would become the earliest Category 4 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic, CNN reported.

'Beryl has found an environment with very warm ocean waters for this time of year,' Mike Brennan, Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center, told CNN on Saturday.

But Beryl could soon be followed by two other storm systems.

One such system has formed east of Beryl and 'is expected to follow a track very similar' to the hurricane, meteorologist DaSilva predicts.

It could be around the Lesser Antilles around July 3 and 4, and 'could eventually bring very heavy rain to portions of the Greater Antilles.'

A third storm is also being monitored closer to the United States.

It is currently over the Yucatan Peninsula, and can cause flooding and mudslides across northeastern Mexico starting Sunday night.

If either one of these storms strengthen into a hurricane, it will be given the name Chris, Fox Weather reports.