Beryl strengthened into a new hurricane on Saturday afternoon. The Category 1 hurricane was about 720 miles east-south-east of Barbados and had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph while moving at 22 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. advisory. Beryl was forecast to strengthen into a Category 3 hurricane. The warmest waters recorded for late June in the tropical Atlantic were to blame, according to Michael Lowry, the Local 10 News Weather Authority hurricane specialist and storm surge expert.This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite image taken at 4:20pm EDT shows hurricane Beryl, lower center right, as it strengthens over the Atlantic Ocean and churns toward the southeast Caribbean on Saturday, June 29, 2024. (NOAA via AP) (Uncredited/)Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados. Hurricane watches were in effect for St. Lucia, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines posing a threat within about 48 hours.Barbados hosted the Twenty20 World Cup cricket final on Saturday in Bridgetown, and there were tourists from India and South Africa. Trinidad and Tobago was still recovering from flooding.Alberto was the first storm of the Atlantic’s hurricane season, running from June 1 to Nov. 30 — and forecasted to be above average. Beryl is the season’s second named storm and the first hurricane. MORE FROM HURRICANE SPECIALISTStaying Storm Safe in Hot Water SpecialA preview of things to come for JulyForecast to impact eastern Caribbean early next weekDisturbance poised to develop, approach Lesser Antilles early next weekFOR THE LATEST UPDATES, visit the complete coverage of hurricanes page, visit the weather page for the hourly local forecast, sign up for the free e-mail Talking Tropics newsletter, and download the free tracker mobile app on the Apple Store or Google Play.DOWNLOAD the Local 10 News Weather Authority: Hurricane Survival GuideWatch a segment from this season’s Staying Storm Safe in Hot Water Special