Hurricane Beryl made landfall on the Texas coast Monday morning with 80 mph winds, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The NHC said it came ashore at 5 a.m. near Matagorda, which is about 85 miles south-southwest of Houston. What had been churning as a tropical storm all day Sunday reformed into a Category 1 hurricane late gaining a little more strength before landfall.
The system is moving north at 12 mph with hurricane-force winds extending out 45 miles and tropical-storm-force winds out 115 miles. A National Ocean Service Station near Freeport, Texas, recently reported a sustained wind of 71 mph and a wind gust of 87 mph. A WeatherFlow station at Surfside
Beach, Texas, recently reported a wind gust of 85 mph.
As of 6 a.m., the center of the storm was 15 miles north of Matagorda and 70 miles south-southwest of Houston still with 80 mph sustained winds moving north at 12 mph. The NHC reported gusts of up to 92 mph were measured near Freeport.
By 6 a.m., the state had nearly 200,000 customers without power, according to poweroutage.us.
A strengthening Hurricane Beryl approaches the Texas Gulf Coast tonight. pic.twitter.com/ntw57onisV
— CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) July 8, 2024
“Steady to rapid weakening is expected as the center moves inland, and Beryl is expected to weaken to a tropical storm later today and to a tropical depression on Tuesday,” said NHC senior hurricane specialist Jack Beven.
A hurricane warning remains in effect for the Texas coast from Mesquite Bay north to Port Bolivar and a tropical storm warning on the Texas coast north of Port Bolivar to Sabine Pass. A storm surge warning is in effect for Mesquite Bay to Sabine Pass, including Matagorda Bay and Galveston Bay.
“On the forecast track, the center of Beryl will move over eastern Texas today, then move through the Lower Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday,” Beven said.
4AM CDT July 8: #Beryl makes landfall near Matagorda, Texas with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. Life-threatening storm surge and strong winds are occurring with considerable flash and urban flooding expected. For more information visit https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ pic.twitter.com/UP7pRftxum
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 8, 2024
Hurricane conditions will continue over the next several hours while storm surge of 4 to 7 feet could threaten from Port O’Connor to San Luis Pass and Matagorda Bay with lower levels north and south along Texas’ Gulf Coast.
The region could also see some tornado activity and will also see from 5 to 10 inches of rain with some areas getting up to 15 inches. Another 3 to 5 inches is expected across portions of far southeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas and southern Missouri tonight into Tuesday.
“Considerable flash and urban flooding as well as minor to isolated major river flooding is expected,” Beven said.
Swells from Beryl are forecast to continue to cause life-threatening surf and rip conditions across the U.S. Gulf Coast over the next two days. Three people died in rip currents off of Florida’s Panhandle last month when Tropical Storm Alberto made a similar landfall near the Texas-Mexico border.
People on the Texas coast boarded up windows and left beach towns under evacuation order. As the storm neared the coast, Texas officials warned Sunday it could cause power outages and flooding but also expressed worry that not enough residents and beach vacationers in Beryl’s path had heeded warnings to leave.
“One of the things that kind of trigger our concern a little bit, we’ve looked at all of the roads leaving the coast and the maps are still green,” said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is serving as the state’s acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is traveling overseas. “So we don’t see many people leaving.”
Along the Texas coast, many residents and business owners took the typical storm precautions but also expressed uncertainty about the storm’s intensity.
In Port Lavaca, Jimmy May fastened plywood over the windows of his electrical supply company and said he wasn’t concerned about the possible storm surge. He recalled his business had escaped flooding in a previous hurricane that brought a 20-foot storm surge.
“In town, you know, if you’re in the low-lying areas, obviously, you need to get out of there,” he said.
At the nearby marina, Percy Roberts showed his neighbor Ken Waller how to properly secure his boat as heavy winds rolled in from the bay Sunday evening.
“This is actually going to be the first hurricane I’m going to be experiencing,” Waller said, noting he is a little nervous but feels safe following Roberts’ lead. “Pray for the best but expect the worst, I guess.”
The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean on its way to Texas. The storm ripped off doors, windows and roofs with devastating winds and storm surge fueled by the Atlantic’s record warmth.
Three times during its one week of life, Beryl has gained 35 mph in wind speed in 24 hours or less, the official weather service definition of rapid intensification.
Beryl’s explosive growth into an unprecedented early whopper of a storm indicates the hot water of the Atlantic and Caribbean and what the Atlantic hurricane belt can expect for the rest of the storm season, experts said.
Beryl lurked as another potential heavy rain event for Houston, where storms in recent months have knocked out power across the nation’s fourth-largest city and flooded neighborhoods.
Those looking to catch a flight out of the area found a closing window for air travel as Beryl moved closer. Hundreds of flights from Houston’s two major commercial airports were delayed by midafternoon Sunday and dozens more canceled, according to FlightAware data.
In Corpus Christi, officials asked visitors to cut their trips short and return home early if possible. Residents were advised to secure homes by boarding up windows if necessary and using sandbags to guard against possible flooding.
The White House said Sunday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had sent emergency responders, search-and-rescue teams, bottled water and other resources along the coast.
Several coastal counties called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas that are prone to flooding. Local officials also banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling on the Fourth of July holiday weekend to move recreational vehicles from coastal parks.
Beryl battered Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane last week, toppling trees but causing no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatan Peninsula.
Before hitting Mexico, Beryl wrought destruction in Jamaica, Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Three people were reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica.
The Associated Press contribute to this report.