Hurricane Beryl made landfall on the Texas coast Monday morning with 80 mph winds causing at least three deaths and leaving millions without power as it moved inland, 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 in the hot waters of the Gulf of Mexico reformed into a Category 1 hurricane before midnight.
It gained a little more strength before landfall, and remained a hurricane until 11 a.m. Monday when it dialed intensity back to a tropical storm as it moved inland. It lowered intensity to a tropical depression as of 8 p.m.
The backside of Beryl is packing a punch but not like the front. Access to the Sargent Beach from Sargent has been cut off by flooding. #Beryl #BerylHurricane @accuweather pic.twitter.com/MYBo8H7riQ
— Aaron Jayjack (@aaronjayjack) July 8, 2024
As of 8 p.m., Beryl had sustained winds of only 35 mph with the center of the storm 30 miles east-southeast of Tyler, Texas and 225 miles southwest of Little Rock, Arkansas moving north-northeast at 16 mph.
A frame condos are destroyed on Surfside Beach after Hurricane Beryl brought destructive storm surge and winds close to 100 MPH!@MyRadarWX #txwx #Hurricane pic.twitter.com/t6oqZF8a9n
— Jordan Hall (@JordanHallWX) July 8, 2024
Two people were killed after trees fell on their houses: a man in the Houston suburb of Humble and a woman in Harris County, authorities said. A third person, a civilian employee of the Houston Police Department, was killed when he was trapped in flood waters under a highway overpass, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said. There were no immediate reports of widespread structural damage, however.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting governor while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is out of the country, said crews cannot get out to fix power lines until the wind dies down. He also warned that flooding could last for days and the storm continues to dump rain onto already saturated ground.
“This is not a one-day event,” Patrick said.
Rosenberg police noted that one of its high-water vehicles was hit by a falling tree while returning from a rescue, and they urged people to stay off the roads. Video footage showed heavy street flooding in the barrier island city of Galveston, and Houston was under a flash-flood warning for most of the morning as heavy rain continued to soak the city.
Surfside Beach, TX got absolutely rocked for an hour, solid hurricane winds and storm surge got close to the edge of the bridge. Finally calming down a bit. #txwx pic.twitter.com/5mLn5NH7UM
— Max Olson (@MesoMax919) July 8, 2024
As of 8 p.m. the state had more than 2.6 million customers without power, according to poweroutage.us.
High waters quickly began closing roads around Houston, which was again under flood warnings after heavy storms in recent months washed out neighborhoods and knocked out power across the nation’s fourth-largest city.
Sunlight coming up in Sargent Beach. Lots of Storm Surge and tide. Many trees down. Some roofs with damage. We are trapped, waiting on things to go down. pic.twitter.com/f6ejoUNR2i
— Mike's Weather Page (@tropicalupdate) July 8, 2024
More than 1,000 flights had been canceled at Houston’s two airports, according to tracking data from FlightAware.
Beryl dumped soaking rains across Houston after coming ashore and was expected to bring damaging winds into East Texas, near Louisiana, as the storm pushed north after making landfall.
Hurricane Beryl brings life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds, and heavy rainfall to the gulf coast as the category 1 hurricane comes ashore on the Texas coastline. pic.twitter.com/inebp7X149
— CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) July 8, 2024
“Further weakening is forecast, and Beryl is expected to become a tropical depression tonight or overnight and a post-tropical cyclone on Tuesday,” said NHC senior hurricane specialist Eric Blake.
All tropical storm and storm surge warnings have been discontinued.
“On the forecast track, the center of Beryl will move through the Lower Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday,” Blake said.
Water levels remain elevated along the Texas coast, but should continue to recede overnight.
The region could also see some tornado activity and will also see from 4 to 8 inches of rain with some areas getting up to 12 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.” Blake 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.
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.
![HOUSTON (AP) — The return of searing heat in the Houston area has deepened the misery for people still without power after Hurricane Beryl left residents in search of places to cool off and fuel up as the extended outages strained one of the nation’s largest cities. More than 1.7 million homes and businesses in […]](https://www.orlandosentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/TOS-Z-beryl-tree.jpg?w=525 "HOUSTON (AP) — The return of searing heat in the Houston area has deepened the misery for people still without power after Hurricane Beryl left residents in search of places to cool off and fuel up as the extended outages strained one of the nation’s largest cities. More than 1.7 million homes and businesses in […]")