The second named storm of the season, Beryl, has strengthened into the first hurricane and is expected to intensify quickly.

Category 1 Hurricane Beryl is heading west, towards the Windward Islands, with a hurricane warning already in effect for Barbados, which is bracing for impact starting tonight.

Jamaica’s Met Office said as at 4:00 p.m., the centre of Hurricane Heryl was located near latitude 10.1 North and longitude 49.3 west.

Beryl is moving toward the west near 22 miles per hour.

A relatively quick westward to west-north westward motion is expected during the next few days.

On the forecast track, the centre of Beryl is expected to move across the Windward Islands late Sunday night and Monday.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 75 miles per hour with higher gusts. 

Continued steady to rapid strengthening is forecast, and beryl is expected to become a dangerous major hurricane before it reaches the Windward Islands.

Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 10 miles from the centre and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 60 miles.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 992 megabytes.

Hurricane Beryl is not an immediate threat to Jamaica at this time.

The Met Service is continuing to monitor this system.

The Met Service is urging Jamaicans to prepare for the worst.

This as, although projections suggest a direct hit by Hurricane Beryl on Jamaica sometime next Wednesday, the forecast cone indicates that the centre could also pass over 150 miles away from the coastline.

Beryl is now a category 1 storm and is expected to be a major hurricane, at category 3, by the time it enters the Caribbean next Monday.

The Met Office said with the hurricane still aiming at the Jamaica area by the middle of next week, fishers should prepare for possible evacuation of cays and banks.