'Rapidly strengthening' major hurricane forms in the first of the season - here's where it'll hit

A 'rapidly strengthening' major hurricane has formed in the Atlantic Ocean - marking the first such storm of the season.

Hurricane Beryl quickly intensified into a major hurricane - strengthening from a tropical depression into a tropical storm and then a hurricane within just 24 hours, Fox Weather reports.   

It is now expected to bring life-threatening storm surges to the Windward Islands - including Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Dominica - starting Sunday night, the National Hurricane Center announced Saturday.

Hurricane watches and warnings are already in effect for those areas, as the storm barrels towards the islands with wind speeds of up to 80mph, according to Backpirch Weather, which called it 'unreal.'

As of Saturday night, Beryl's center was about 720 miles southeast of Barbados, meteorologist James Spann posted on X. 

Once it hits landfall, the storm surge is expected to reach five to seven feet above normal tides.

It will also bring with it 'large, destructive waves' and rainfall of three to six inches, according to the National Hurricane Center. 

Beryl is then expected to move into southeastern Puerto Rico by Monday night and into Tuesday, bringing with it one to four inches of rain.

By then, it is expected to have peak winds of up to 120mph - making it a Category 3 hurricane, USA Today reports. 

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

'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. 

Meteorologists differ on whether the storm will lose strength as it continues to make its way across the Caribbean.

Spann suggested that 'an increase in shear should end the strengthening trend and induce some weakening toward the end of the forecast period,' he explained. 

Accuweather meteorologists, however, expect the impact of the shear to be minimal - and say Beryl could actually intensify due to higher-than-average water temperatures, becoming a major hurricane by Monday.

This is a developing story.