Tropical Storm Beryl Live Updates: 121 Texas Counties Facing Hurricane Impact

With maximum sustained winds of nearly 75 mph (120 km/h), Beryl has been upgraded to a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.

It added that the hurricane will strengthen before making landfall on the Texas coast on Monday.

Beryl was an unusual storm, making it the first Category 5 hurricane ever documented.

It has caused significant destruction throughout the Caribbean, particularly affecting the islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Mariehamn, Union, and Grenada.

Beryl was one of the most powerful storms to hit Jamaica, leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

The National Weather Service still predicts Tropical Storm Beryl will hit Texas Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane.

This would make Beryl the first Atlantic hurricane to hit the United States during the 2024 summer and fall hurricane season.

The Houston airport said there could be flight delays or cancellations as Beryl approaches Texas.

Even for flights departing or arriving at destinations outside the storm’s direct path, “airlines may need to adjust flight schedules and routes due to the overall impact of the hurricane on their networks,” it said.

It urged people not to seek shelter at airports during the storm.

“As the storm approaches, we want to remind everyone that our airports are not acting as storm shelters as people plan to stay indoors and stay safe from the storm. “We do not have the supplies and personnel to accommodate people who seek shelter during the storm,” it said.

The NHC said there is a risk of life-threatening storm surge flooding along the Texas coast from Mesquite Bay to Sabine Pass, including Matagorta Bay and Galveston Bay.

As Beryl is expected to make landfall as a hurricane along the Texas coast, conditions are expected to worsen with dangerous storm surges, flash flooding and strong winds, the National Hurricane Center said.

As of the 10 p.m. CDT advisory, Beryl was about 75 miles (120 km) south-southeast of Matagorta, Texas, and about 110 miles (180 km) east of Corpus Christi, Texas.

The storm has maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 km/h).

Communities across Florida are coming together to help other communities affected by Hurricane Beryl.

The storm has killed at least nine people in the Caribbean and hit the island of Cariaco in Grenada earlier this week.

Floridians — no strangers to the power of hurricanes — have begun making donations of critical items and volunteering their time to prepare donated items to be shipped to hurricane-affected communities that need them most.

Rain and strong winds began battering coastal Texas after the powerful storm Berly left a path of destruction in Mexico and the Caribbean.

Although Beryl was still a tropical storm as it barreled towards Texas on Sunday, it threatened to regain hurricane strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall early Monday.

The storm was expected to make landfall in the middle of the Texas coast around Matagorta Bay, about 100 miles (161 km) south of Houston, but officials warned that the track could still change.

Texas officials warned the storm could cause power outages and flooding, but also worried that not enough coastal residents and beach vacationers in Beryl’s path heeded warnings to evacuate. “One of the things that raises our concern is that we’ve looked at all the roads that leave the coast and the maps are still green,” said Texas Lt. Gov. Don Patrick, who serves as the state’s acting governor. .

Beryl is expected to make landfall in southeast Texas early Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane.

State officials have issued a disaster declaration for 121 districts ahead of the storm’s arrival.

Joe Biden and administration officials are monitoring the development of Tropical Storm Beryl as it continues to move toward southeast Texas.

“We are in close contact with our state and local counterparts, and FEMA has response personnel, search and rescue teams, bottled water, food, tarps and power generators in case they are needed. On Sunday, FEMA will deploy its National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) to further support local response efforts. ) implemented,” the White House said in a statement to reporters on Sunday.