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STORY: Hurricane Beryl is breaking records as it tears through the Caribbean.

Over the weekend, it became the first Category 4 storm to ever form in the Atlantic in the month of June.

On Tuesday, it became the earliest storm on record to reach Category 5, the strongest possible ranking.

Scientists say that all points to a 'very dangerous hurricane season' ahead.

:: What is hurricane season?

Hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean typically lasts from June through November, peaking in the late summer.

On average, it produces 14 named storms, of which half become hurricanes.

But the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned of an "extraordinary" 2024 Atlantic season.

We could see up to 25 named storms instead, and 13 hurricanes.

Scientists blame record-breaking sea temperatures, driven by human-caused climate change and cyclical weather patterns.

:: What is a Category 5?

A Category 5 is the strongest hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, bringing winds of 157 mph or higher, capable of causing catastrophic damage including the destruction of homes and infrastructure.

"The 2nd of July, we do not normally talk about Category 5 hurricanes in July."

World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis:

"We've got very, very warm waters. We need to bear in mind that it only takes one land falling hurricane to set back decades of development. And we fear what is happening with Hurricane Beryl, which has hit very, very, very small islands in the Caribbean who are not used to this size of hurricane. We fear that, this is going to have a major knock on socioeconomic development."

Since 1960, only 30 Atlantic hurricanes have reached Category 5.

The most recorded in a single season was four and that was in 2005, the year Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.

:: How dangerous is Beryl and where is it headed?

Beryl is the strongest storm to hit the south-eastern Caribbean in two decades.

It made landfall on small islands in the eastern Caribbean on Monday.

It's currently forecast to barrel over the Caribbean island of Jamaica on Wednesday, where it could dump as much as 12 inches of rain, skimming the Dominican Republic and Haiti along the southern coast of the island of Hispaniola.