Tropical storm Beryl is expected to become a "dangerous major hurricane" before reaching the Windward Islands, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Saturday.

"On the forecast track, the system (Beryl) is expected to move across the Windward Islands late Sunday night and Monday," the NHC said, adding that heavy rainfall and localized flooding were also expected.

Beryl, which formed over the central tropical Atlantic on Friday, was located about 785 miles (1,260 km) east-southeast of Barbados, carrying maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour, the forecaster said in an advisory Saturday afternoon.

The tropical storm is moving west at 23 mph and may produce total rainfall of three to six inches (7.5 to 15 cm) across Barbados and the Windward Islands, the NHC said.

  - Reuters