Beryl spares Corpus Christi as Gulf Coast residents eye storm surges
Katie NickasWith Hurricane Beryl sparing Corpus Christi, residents are now looking to see what impact, if any, it has made to the city's beaches and coastline.
Corpus Christians braced for gale-force winds and high tides over the weekend, battening down their homes and stocking up on groceries and supplies in preparation for the storm.
However, Beryl veered to the northeast, making landfall early Monday morning near Matagorda with sustained winds of 80 mph, according to data from AccuWeather.
All storm watches and warnings have been cancelled for the Corpus Christi area, though Beryl is producing flash flood and tornadoes over a wide swath of eastern Texas, from about 50 miles east of Victoria to Beaumont, according to a public advisory published at 4 p.m. Monday by the National Weather Service.
A storm surge warning is in effect for North of San Luis Pass to Sabine Pass, including Galveston Bay, due to the danger of life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland from the coastline.
Widespread surges could bring flash floods from 1 foot to 3 feet to the coast, bays and waterways into Tuesday as the Category 1 storm moves inland, the NWS advisory stated, with peak surges happening during high tide.
According to the latest NWS Peak Storm Surge Forecast shared at 4 p.m. Monday, storm water could rise from 1 foot to 3 feet along areas of Matagorda Bay, from Port O'Connor to San Luis Pass. Cities in Galveston Bay, extending from San Luis Pass to Sabine Pass, could witness a surge of 3 feet to 5 feet. The eastern part of the coast from Sabine Pass to Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge could see 1 foot to 3 feet of surge.
“Beryl has been a resilient storm ever since it exploded into a Category 5 hurricane in the Caribbean last week and devastated communities in the Windward Islands,” said AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva. “People in the path of Beryl’s track should not let their guard down this week. Beryl will bring the risk of tornadoes as far away as Ohio. Downpours from Beryl could also cause flash flooding as far north as Detroit, more than 1,100 miles from where Beryl made landfall in Texas.”
In parts of Matagorda Bay, reports have come in of 6-foot to 10-foot storm surges, as well as reports of over 6 feet of storm surge in Morgan's Bay, he said.
Agency officials urge people to take caution after Beryl passes to avoid deadly hazards such as downed power lines in flooded areas. Rip currents will cause life-threatening conditions into Tuesday across portions of the northern and western Gulf Coasts.
Local officials spent the day evaluating beach conditions and coordinating recovery and repair for any areas that might have been impacted by a storm surge.
Park personnel with the Padre Island National Seashore posted a notice on social media at 8:45 a.m. Monday, announcing that the park would be closed until further notice, and a team would be going into the park to assess for any damages that may have been caused by storm surge.
The team punched a hole through the sand berm at the South Beach entrance to access the island and look for any storm surge, stopping at the turtle patroller's cabin to ensure that it and the egg corral were intact. They also looked for any large items that may have washed up on the beach, as well as navigational buoys and unmoored vessels, and blocked off the driving lanes.
The natural barrier island undergoes erosion during storm surges, and water that rushes up to the sand berm can gouge sand out from the base of the road.
Tides that pushed up to the dune lines after Tropical Storm Alberto significantly wore away the dunes near Malaquite Beach and the Malaquite Campground, damaging the Malaquite Campground boardwalk, according to a June 20 PINS Facebook post. Beach access routes were also blocked with debris, and park staff spent several days clearing beach access points when high tides receded and conditions allowed in order to reopen areas including North Beach, Bird Island Basin, and Malaquite Visitor Center.
PINS Public Information Officer Kelly Taylor said on Monday afternoon that based on what she had seen at the Visitor Center area, the storm damage from Hurricane Beryl was much less severe than that from Tropical Storm Alberto.
"What I'm seeing around here is a normal full moon, high tide where the water comes up to the base of the dunes," she said. "During Alberto, we had debris up to the boardwalk at the Visitor's Center. That is not the case today. From here in the Visitor's Center, there's debris as usual."
While dune erosion can change the profile of the coastline, she said that it is a part of a healthy dune system and exemplifies the importance of preserving the natural features of the coast. She encouraged beachgoers to do their part through practices such as not driving in the dunes.
"Padre Island is the first line of defense to protect the mainland, because it's taking the brunt of the storm when it comes to water and flooding," Taylor said. "It will repair itself, particularly in areas where we haven't meddled and paved to right where the sand drops onto the beach."
More:Live updates for Hurricane Beryl: Flood advisory for Corpus Christi