As Tropical Storm Beryl heads toward the Gulf of Mexico, Texas is bracing for the storm to hit the coast as a Category 1 hurricane. Several counties have issued evacuation orders and more than a million residents are under evacuation orders under a hurricane warning early sunday morning.
The storm, which set records as the first Category 4 and 5 hurricane to form in the Atlantic, has flattened islands in the Caribbean and killed several people in the past week. After making landfall in Mexico, Beryl weakened to a tropical storm. But it is expected to strengthen to a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall on the Texas coast on Monday morning.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Beryl had sustained winds of up to 60 miles per hour as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico Sunday morning, and could bring devastating hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surges and heavy rainfall across southern and central Texas. The center predicts that tropical storm conditions will begin Sunday evening and hurricane conditions may develop Monday morning.
Predictors consultation The storm could dump 5 to 10 inches of rain on parts of the Gulf Coast and eastern Texas; some areas could get as much as 15 inches. Storm surge could raise water levels by as much as six feet. Corpus Christi is among the cities most at risk and could be hit by destructive winds of 58 miles per hour or more as early as Sunday afternoon.
Authorities in Texas are preparing for the impact of the storm, which has left the state issued a disaster declaration for 121 provinces. The declaration allows state funds to assist with local preparation and recovery efforts.
Texas Department of Emergency Management has also prepared the National Guard, search and rescue teams, and other emergency services in advance of the storm.
“Don’t ignore this storm,” warned Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting as governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is out of the country.
Some counties have already issued evacuation notices. Matagorda County announced a voluntary evacuation for coastal areas that went into effect Friday night, meaning residents were strongly encouraged to evacuate, but not required to do so. On Saturday afternoon, Refugio County ordered a mandatory evacuation for all residents, meaning they had to evacuate immediately.
Storm conditions are expected to last into the Fourth of July weekend, which could bring additional risks as some Texans travel to the coast for the holiday. In Galveston, about 50 miles south of Houston, an official said the island city was expecting as many as half a million people over the holiday weekend — all the while bracing for a storm surge that the city’s seawall, built in 1903, may offer little protection against.
While Beryl has broken records with its timing, Texas is no stranger to hurricanes and tropical storms. Hurricane Harvey, which hit Texas and Louisiana in 2017, was one of the worst disasters the state has faced in recent years. In Texas, it killed dozens of people, broke records for flooding, and caused more than $100 billion in damage. More recently, in September 2021, Hurricane Nicholas made landfall in Texas, take down trees and knock out electricity for hundreds of thousands of customers.
Forecasters are already predicting an intense hurricane season. They say Beryl’s rapid escalation to a Category 5 hurricane last week was fueled by unusually warm ocean temperatures — a bad sign for the rest of the summer, as the same temperatures could amplify future hurricanes.
There are signs that climate change is affecting the nature of hurricanes. Researchers have found that climate change has increased the frequency of major hurricanes because warmer ocean temperatures provide more energy to fuel these storms. It also causes hurricanes to intensify faster and produce more rain with higher storm surges.
After the storm, which tore through Venezuela, Jamaica and Grenada, Caribbean leaders have already called on Western countries to take greater action on climate change.
Emily Schmall contributed to the reporting.
