Beryl strengthened, becoming a hurricane again late Sunday, and was heading toward South Texas, where the storm’s outer edges were battering coastal areas with rain and growing winds as residents braced for a powerful storm that has already carved a deadly path through parts of Mexico and the Caribbean.
The National Hurricane Center issued an update at 1 a.m. CST saying the storm was about 30 miles southeast of Matagorda, Texas, and about 95 miles northeast of Corpus Christi.
The hurricane’s maximum sustained winds are 80 mph, and the storm is moving northwest at 10 mph.
Hurricane warnings have been issued for the Texas coast from Mesquite Bay north to Port Bolivar, the center said.
People along the Texas coast boarded up their windows and left seaside towns under evacuation orders.
The storm was expected to make landfall early Monday on the central Texas coast around Matagorda Bay, about 100 miles south of Houston, but officials warned its path could change.
As the storm approached the coast, Texas officials warned Sunday that it could cause power outages and flooding, but also expressed concern that not enough residents and beachgoers in Beryl’s path were following evacuation advice.
“One of the things that we’re a little concerned about is we’ve looked at all the roads coming off the coast and they’re still green on the map,” said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is serving as the state’s acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott travels overseas. “So we’re not seeing a lot of people leaving.”
Tropical storm-force winds extended out to 115 miles from the center, and the hurricane center warned residents to prepare for possible flash flooding in parts of central, northern and eastern Texas and Arkansas as the storm gradually shifts direction northward and then northeastward late Monday.
Along the Texas coast, many residents and business owners took standard storm precautions but also expressed concern about the storm’s strength.
In Port Lavaca, Jimmy May secured plywood to the windows of his electric supplier and said he wasn’t worried about a possible storm surge.
He recalled how his store had escaped flooding during a previous hurricane that brought a 20-foot storm surge.
“If you’re in low-lying areas across town, obviously you need to evacuate from there,” he said.
At a nearby marina, Percy Roberts showed his neighbor Ken Waller how to properly secure his boat as strong winds blew in from the bay on Sunday evening.
“This is actually my first hurricane,” Waller said, adding that she’s a little nervous, but feels safe following Roberts’ lead. “I guess it’s like, pray for the best, but prepare for the worst.”
Beryl, the first storm in the Atlantic to strengthen into a Category 5 hurricane, killed at least 11 people as it passed through the Caribbean on its way to Texas.
The storm destroyed doors, windows and roofs with devastating winds and a storm surge caused by record warmth in the Atlantic Ocean.
During the week following Beryl, wind speeds reached 35 mph (56 kph) three times within 24 hours, an official Met Office definition of a sudden increase in wind speed.
Experts said Beryl’s rapid growth and explosive growth into an unprecedentedly powerful storm was indicative of warming waters in the Atlantic and Caribbean and what the Atlantic hurricane belt can expect for the rest of the storm season.
Texas officials warned residents along the coast to prepare for flooding, heavy rain and strong winds.
Hurricane warnings stretched from Baffin Bay south of Corpus Christi to Sargent, south of Houston.
Beryl has the potential to be the latest in a string of heavy rains threatening Houston in recent months, with storms knocking out power across the nation’s fourth-largest city and flooding neighborhoods.
Flood watches have been issued for a large swath of the Texas coast, with forecasters expecting Beryl to dump as much as 10 inches of rain in some areas.
Storm surges of 4 to 7 feet above ground level were expected in the Matagorda area.
The warnings extended to the same coastal areas where Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in 2017. Harvey was much stronger than Beryl’s predicted strength at the time of landfall.
People planning to fly out of the region noticed reduced air travel times as Beryl approached: Hundreds of flights out of Houston’s two major commercial airports were delayed by mid-afternoon Sunday, and dozens more were canceled, according to FlightAware data.
In Corpus Christi, officials urged tourists to cut their trips short and return home early if possible.
Residents were advised to board up windows if necessary and use sandbags to protect their homes in case of flooding.
The White House said Sunday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had deployed emergency responders, search and rescue teams, bottled water and other supplies to coastal areas.
Several coastal counties are urging voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas prone to flooding.
Local officials also banned camping on beaches and asked tourists traveling over the Independence Day weekend to remove recreational vehicles from coastal parks.
Category 2 hurricane Beryl slammed into Mexico last week, downing trees but causing no casualties, and weakened to a tropical storm as it crossed the Yucatan Peninsula.
Beryl caused devastation in Jamaica, Barbados, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines before making landfall in Mexico.
Three deaths were reported in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica.
