Hurricane Beryl made landfall along the Texas coast as a Category 1 storm early Monday, forcing the closure of major oil ports, flight cancellations and warnings that it would be a deadly storm for affected communities.
By the time the cyclone made landfall near Matagorda around 4:30 a.m., winds had reached 80 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Minutes after landfall, the National Weather Service in Houston issued a tornado warning for several locations.
It was the third hurricane to make landfall in eight days.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued hurricane warnings for much of the Texas coast on Sunday, warning that Beryl could bring hurricane-force winds and 5 to 10 inches of rain. Rainfall of up to 15 inches was also expected in parts of the central and upper Texas Gulf Coast and eastern Texas.
Water levels began rising in coastal areas Sunday, and several local officials advised residents to evacuate ahead of the storm’s arrival. Officials also urged residents to prepare for Beryl’s impacts by stocking up on supplies, filling up gas tanks and staying up-to-date on updates, as the storm is expected to bring heavy rain, flash flooding and potential inland tornadoes.
Acting Texas Gov. Dan Patrick said Beryl “will be a deadly storm for people in its direct path” and issued a disaster declaration for 120 counties.
Last week, Beryl left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean, killing at least 11 people and destroying or severely damaging infrastructure on several islands. Beryl, which at one point strengthened into the first Category 5 hurricane on record, made its final landfall Friday morning on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula before weakening to a tropical storm.
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Developments:
∎ School districts along the Texas Gulf Coast, including Houston, announced they would be closed Monday. The Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority also suspended transportation service before Beryl.
∎ The storm caused closures or restrictions on shipping traffic at several ports in cities from Houston to Corpus Christi. Ports in Corpus Christi, Houston, Galveston, Freeport and Texas City said they were closed after the condition “Zulu” was set by U.S. Coast Guard captains on Sunday.
∎ The National Weather Service warned of life-threatening storm surges that could cause coastal flooding and rip currents.
Will Beryl hit Houston?
Beryl threatens Texas’ largest city and the nation’s fourth-largest city with another potential bout of heavy rain.
The Houston metro area, particularly the western half of the metro area, will see “significant impacts in the form of strong, high winds in addition to heavy rain,” meteorologist Eric Berger said on the SpaceCityWeather blog.
Rainfall could reach 15 inches in some areas, the weather service warned, which could lead to flash flooding.
The city has already faced severe storms in recent months, which have downed trees and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes in and around the area.
It’s hurricane season.Find out what previous storms have passed near your neighborhood
Beryl breaks records in the middle of hurricane season
On July 1, Beryl made landfall on the island of Carriacou in Grenada as a Category 4 hurricane and ravaged the southern Caribbean islands, flattening hundreds of buildings.
Later that night, Beryl became the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record. Driven by record-breaking ocean temperatures, Beryl’s rapid strengthening stunned experts. Beryl was also the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record and is the first major June hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles on record.
Federal forecasters have predicted an unprecedented hurricane season, with as many as 25 named storms possible. That’s the most storms ever predicted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a preseason forecast.
With contributions from Jorge L. Ortiz and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY; Reuters
