At 5:00 am today, the center of Hurricane Beryl was located near latitude 11.1 north, longitude 49.8 west or about 830 miles or 1330 km east-southeast of the Lesser Antilles.
Beryl is moving towards the west-northwest near 14 mph or 22 km/h.. a west-northwestward motion with some increase in forward speed is expected during the next few days.
On the forecast track, the center of Beryl will approach the Lesser Antilles over the weekend and cross the island chain late Sunday or Monday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 75 mph or 120 km/h with higher gusts.
Due to the small size of the hurricane, short-term changes in intensity, up or down, could occur over the next day or two, but Beryl is forecast to be near hurricane strength as it nears the Lesser Antilles.
Weakening is expected once Beryl reaches the eastern Caribbean Sea on Monday, but the system may not degenerate into an open trough until it reaches the vicinity of Hispaniola and the central Caribbean Sea.
A hurricane watch is in effect for Dominica.
A tropical storm watch is in effect for St. Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Martin and St. Barthelemy.
Interests elsewhere in the Lesser Antilles should continue to monitor the progress of Beryl, as additional watches could be required for other islands later today.
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