Hurricane Beryl is breaking records as it wreaks havoc in the southeastern Caribbean. On Sunday, Beryl became the first Category 4 storm ever to form in the Atlantic Ocean in the month of June. No storm has reached Category 4 intensity so early in the hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. The previous record was held by Hurricane Dennis, which slammed into Cuba as a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005.
Hurricane Beryl’s strength has been striking, as well. Multiple studies have shown that while climate change is not necessarily expected to increase the total number of hurricanes per year, warmer ocean temperatures will help strengthen ones that do form. Beryl intensified from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 42 hours, a stunning pace. The storm’s rapid intensification was made possible by warm water on the ocean’s surface, which acts as fuel for developing storms.