Texas.– Beryl’s outer bands brought more intense rain and winds to Texas on Sunday as residents boarded up windows, evacuated some coastal towns and braced for a tropical storm that could strengthen into a hurricane before landfall.
Much of the Texas coast was under a hurricane warning and landfall was expected early Monday. Authorities in several coastal counties asked tourists who were on the beach for the Independence Day holiday to leave.
Beryl, the first storm to become a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, caused at least 11 deaths as it tore through the Caribbean on its way to Texas. The storm ripped off doors, windows and roofs with devastating winds and storm surges fueled by record-breaking Atlantic heat.
“We are seeing the outer bands of Beryl approaching the Texas coast and the weather could worsen, especially this afternoon and evening,” Eric Blake, a hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center, said early Sunday. “We anticipate the hurricane will make landfall somewhere along the central Texas coast overnight.”
Beryl would be the fourth hurricane to hit Texas in the past 25 years, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
Beryl’s explosive growth into a record-breaking early storm is a result of warm water from the Atlantic and Caribbean, and what could be expected for the remainder of the storm season, experts said.
Officials in Texas warned people along the coast to prepare for possible flooding, heavy rain and winds. The hurricane warning extended from Baffin Bay, south of Corpus Christi, to Sargent, south of Houston.
Ben Koutsoumbaris, general manager of Island Market on Corpus Christi’s Padre Island, said “there’s definitely been a lot of buzz about the storm coming,” and customers are stocking up on food and drink, particularly meat and beer.
The White House said Sunday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has sent first responders, search and rescue teams, bottled water and other resources to Texas.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is serving as acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is traveling in Taiwan, issued a precautionary disaster declaration for 121 counties.
Earlier this week, Beryl hit Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane, causing no deaths or injuries, and then weakened to a tropical storm as it passed over the Yucatan Peninsula.
Before reaching Mexico, Beryl caused destruction in Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados and Venezuela, leaving a total of 11 people dead.
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