Rohit Baniwal, reporter
Category 1 Hurricane Beryl hit Matagorda, Texas early Monday morning.
The storm hit 110 miles south of Houston with 52-mph winds. The National Hurricane Centre predicts life-threatening storm surge, torrential rainfall, flash and urban floods in the east.
The National Weather Service has a tornado watch for southern Texas until 10 a.m.
Beryl’s maximum sustained winds reached 80 mph about 1 a.m. CT on Monday, according to the National Hurricane Centre. The storm was 30 miles south-southeast of Matagorda and 95 miles east of Corpus Christi, Texas, with “conditions deteriorating with dangerous storm surge, flash flooding, and strong winds expected.”
The centre warns that Beryl’s consequences, including high gusts, heavy rain, and rough surf, will start in coastal Texas before landfall. The centre reported on Sunday that Beryl’s outer rain bands reached Texas on Sunday night.
In severe instances, Texas may see more than a foot of rain and 100 mph winds. Forecasters warned of a severe storm surge and flash flooding overnight along the Texas coast in addition to heavy rain and destructive gusts.
Beryl is projected to land between Corpus Christi and Galveston, but that might change, according to Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Sunday afternoon. Texans should not underestimate the storm, he said.
“Don’t turn your back on Beryl,” Patrick, interim governor while Greg Abbott is abroad, told CNN. “Where this storm hits, it will do considerable damage. Power will go off. Winds will topple buildings. Heavy rain will flood streets, so treat this storm seriously.”
Many local officials advised evacuation before the storm hit. On their way out, residents boarded up windows, stocked up and loaded up on petrol.
After hitting the Windward Islands and Jamaica earlier that week, the hurricane reached Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday morning, killing at least 11.
Developments:
∎ Houston’s port was closed Sunday afternoon by the Coast Guard for Beryl. It shuttered Texas ports Texas City, Freeport, and Galveston.
School closures in southeast Texas were scheduled on Monday as a precaution. Houston Independent School system, Texas’ largest school system, shuttered all classrooms and offices on Monday and Tuesday.
∎ Corpus Christi officials recommended people “to stay indoors and secure outdoor objects to prevent damage,” the USA TODAY Network’s Caller-Times said. The local National Weather Service office predicted strong gusts, rain, and floods.
Does Beryl hit Houston?
Beryl targets America’s fourth-largest metropolis.
“Significant effects in the form of strong, battering winds in addition to heavy rainfall,” wrote SpaceCityWeather blog meteorologist Eric Berger for Houston.
Preparations for Beryl reach beyond coast
Patrick declared a disaster in 120 central and eastern counties in the absence of Abbott, who is in Asia. He cautioned locals that Beryl’s threats go beyond her high winds.
College Station and Texarkana, on the Arkansas border hundreds of miles from the ocean, may see significant rainfall and flash floods.
Tropical rainstorm Beryl tracks north to the Great Lakes. “Rain bands and squalls east and southeast of Beryl’s centre will have spinning motion, which can cause tornadoes,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.
AccuWeather predicts severe rain in Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana through Tuesday.
Beyond the coast, Texas officials encourage citizens to fill petrol tanks, stock up on food and water and remain in touch with family and friends. Patrick encouraged them to follow developments and restrict travel starting Monday.
Where’s Beryl?
Beryl’s centre was 105 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, in the Gulf of Mexico at 11 p.m. CT. The storm, with sustained winds of 75 mph, was predicted to travel northwest Sunday and north Monday.
Forecasters predict early Monday landfall on Texas’ coast. Texas’ Gulf Coast had hurricane, tropical storm, and storm surge watches and warnings, the hurricane centre said. Texas storm surge could reach 7 feet from Port O’Connor to Matagorda Bay and San Luis Pass.
The prediction predicted 5–10 inches of rain, with some regions receiving 15 inches.
AccuWeather meteorologist Carl Erickson warned of high winds: “Category 1 hurricane winds of 74–95 mph will fall trees, knock off electricity, and destroy property. Hard-hit communities might see days-to-weeks of power disruptions.”
The Beryl storm tracker
This projected track depicts the storm center’s anticipated course. It does not show the storm’s entire width or affects, as the centre may migrate outside the cone up to 33% of the time.
Beryl-bound Texas gulf town braces, some escape.
On a busy Sunday morning at his petrol station and convenience store in Palacios, Texas, a Gulf Coast hamlet of 4,000 on Beryl’s route, Kevin Maredia had just a few minutes to chat.
Many worried vehicles stopped to fill up before leaving Palacios to avoid the storm. Other consumers were stocking up to weather what may be a Category 1 storm by the time it hit the U.S.
The business will close at 7 p.m. after covering its windows with plywood 10 blocks from a bay that may withstand Beryl’s greatest gusts. Maredia suggested Sunday instead of midnight. He said clients were worried and even panicked about the storm.
“People are leaving because they’re thinking the wind is coming this way,” he added. “So they’re getting out of town.”
Beryl may grow quickly into a Category 2 storm.
Meteorologists expect Beryl to easily recover hurricane strength Sunday afternoon or evening due to low winds and warm Gulf of Mexico seas.
The centre says that Beryl may become a Category 2 hurricane with 96 mph winds under perfect conditions. The storm may intensify rapidly before impact, with winds exceeding 35 mph.
In its early phases, Beryl had fast wind increases as it neared the Windward Islands and entered the Caribbean.
What’s the difference between Category 1 and 2 hurricanes?
Category 1 hurricanes reach 74-95 mph. Dangerous winds will damage: Well-built frame homes may lose roofs, shingles, vinyl siding, and gutters. Shallow-rooted trees may tumble and large branches shatter. electricity outages may continue several days if electricity cables and poles are severely damaged.
Category 2 storms reach 96–110 mph. Damage from severe winds is extensive: Well-built frame homes can suffer substantial roof and siding damage. Many shallow-rooted trees will break and impede roadways. Potential power outages of many days to weeks might cause near-total loss.
Where will Beryl hit?
The National Weather Service in Houston expects the highest winds to occur over Matagorda Bay as the storm approaches land, although track modifications eastward might alter them. Tropical-storm-force winds could cause power outages, tree damage, and roof damage up to the I-10 corridor, according to the weather agency.
Recent Beryl news:
The Coast Guard warns the storm may close oil ports: The Coast Guard warned of probable Corpus Christi-Houston port closures and restricted vessel movement due to Beryl. Port closures may interrupt crude oil and motor gasoline exports to refineries.
Possible tornadoes Sunday: Weather.com noted tropical storms and hurricanes typically create tornadoes in rain bands as they approach the coast and travel inland. Beryl will be no exception. Tropical Storm Beryl might bring a few tornadoes to the middle to upper Texas Coast and southwest Louisiana, according to the Storm Prediction Centre.
Record-setting Beryl
Beryl, a Category 4 storm, hit Grenada’s Carriacou Island on Monday, destroying hundreds of structures and killing at least six people. Later Monday night, it became the earliest Category 5 hurricane. Beryl’s quick intensification shocked analysts due to record-high water temperatures.
Beryl was the first June major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles and the earliest Category 4 storm before weakening to Category 3 on Monday.
Phil Klotzbach, a Colorado State University research scientist, wrote on X that Beryl would be the 10th hurricane to arrive in July.
