Hurricane Beryl re-strengthens as it bears down on Texas as new tracking map shows when and where it will make landfall
Beryl strengthened and became a hurricane once again late Sunday as it heads toward southern Texas, where the part outer parts of the storm hit the coast with rain and intensifying winds.
People on the Texas coast boarded up windows and left beach towns under evacuation order, after the powerful system already cut through parts of Mexico and islands in the Caribbean.
The hurricane, moving northwest, topped sustained winds of 75 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The storm was projected to come ashore early Monday in the middle of the Texas coast around Matagorda Bay, an area about 100 miles south of Houston.
A new map shared by Axios shows the hurricane will soon batter multiple southern Texas towns near Houston, but officials cautioned the path could still change.
People watch waves crash into the 37th Street rock groin in Galveston, Texas on Sunday, July 7, 2024, as Tropical Storm Beryl churns toward the Texas coast
Jimmy May boards windows as he prepares for Hurricane Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas
Hurricane Beryl was predicted to rip through six US states, according to one terrifying model shown here on the pink line. Now that it's come closer to the US, southern Texas will be hit and so will parts of Arkansas
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick warned residents that Beryl will be a 'deadly storm' for those in its path.
As the storm nears the coast, Texas officials warned Sunday it could cause power outages and flooding, with Governor Greg Abbott telling Texans to prepare for impact.
'As Texans and visitors in south coastal areas celebrate Independence Day, I urge them to also make an emergency plan to stay safe.'
Texas officials are concerned that not enough people in the likely impact zone are heeding warnings to leave.
'One of the things that kind of trigger our concern a little bit, we've looked at all of the roads leaving the coast and the maps are still green,' said Patrick, who is serving as the state's acting governor while Abbott is travelling overseas.
'So we don't see many people leaving.'
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, center, stands next to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Patrick is serving as acting governor while Abbott is traveling abroad
The ferocious hurricane already killed at least 11 people in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Jamaica and Venezuela and caused significant damage to parts of the Caribbean. Pictured: Destruction on the island of Petite Martinique, Grenada
Jamaica was under a state of emergency as the island was declared a disaster zone hours before the impact of Hurricane Beryl on Wednesday
A damaged property in Carriacou, Grenada, July 2, 2024 after Hurricane Beryl tore through the island. Grenada's prime minister, after visiting Carriacou and Petite Martinique, has called the situation 'Armageddon-like' and said they will have to 'rebuild from the ground up'
Beryl has already proved its deadliness, killing at least 11 people in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Jamaica and Venezuela while it was still a Category 5 storm.
It's also been incredibly destructive to infrastructure, the storm knocking out power to 400,000 homes and destroying scores of buildings in Jamaica.
Tropical storm winds extended 115 miles (185 kilometers) from the center, and the hurricane center warned residents to be prepared for possible flash flooding in parts of middle, upper and eastern Texas
Even Arkansas could experience flooding as the storm gradually turns northeast later Monday.
Along the Texas coast, many residents and business owners took typical precautions, while also expressing doubt 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 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 that he's a little nervous but feels safe following Roberts' lead.
'Pray for the best but expect the worst, I guess.'
People walk amidst damaged property following the passing of Hurricane Beryl, in Union Island, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Workers with the Galveston Island Park Board of Trustees remove lifeguard towers from the beach near 57th Street in Galveston, Texas
The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl ripped off doors, windows and roofs across the Caribbean fueled by the Atlantic's record warmth.
The average date for the first hurricane of the summer is August 11.
And even of those that have formed in June, Beryl has formed the furthest east in the Atlantic Ocean since records began in the mid-1800s.
The previous record was held by Hurricane Two, which formed in 1933 off the coast of South America.
It's also incredibly rare for storms as powerful as Beryl to form this early.
Most hurricanes that form near the end of June or early July start off as tropical storms and sometimes strengthen into Category 1 systems, according to NOAA records, let alone Category fives.
Three times in 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.
Satellite image of Hurricane Beryl on June 30, 2024
A person stands amidst damaged property following the passing of Hurricane Beryl, in Union Island, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, on July 2, 2024
Residents fix the roof of their flooded house after a river swelled due to heavy rains following the passage of Hurricane Beryl on the road from Cumana to Cumanacoa, Sucre State, Venezuela, on July 2, 2024
The hurricane warning in Texas extended from Baffin Bay, south of Corpus Christi, to Sargent, south of Houston.
A flash flood watch was in effect for a wide swath of the Texas coast, where forecasters expected Beryl to dump as much as 10 inches of rain in some areas.
Potential storm surges between 4 and 7 feet above ground level were forecast around Matagorda, which is about 94 miles southwest of Houston.
The warnings extended to these same coastal areas where Hurricane Harvey came ashore in 2017 as a Category 4 hurricane, far more powerful than Beryl's expected intensity by the time the storm makes landfall.
Those looking to catch a flight out of the area could find that option all but impossible as Beryl closes in.
Hundreds of flights from Houston's two major commercial airports were delayed by midafternoon Sunday and dozens more canceled, according to FlightAware data.
Houston's airport also urged people not to seek shelter there.
'As the storm approaches and people plan to stay indoors and safe from the storm, we want to remind everyone that our airports are not equipped to serve as storm shelters. We lack the supplies and staff to accommodate people seeking refuge during the storm,' airport officials said.
An emergency crew clears the main road after Hurricane Beryl passed the day before, in the northern Saint Patrick parish town of Sauteurs, Grenada on July 2, 2024
Storm clouds hover over the mountains as people make last-minute preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Beryl on July 03, 2024 in Kingston, Jamaica
Pictured is a satellite image of 'very strong and powerful' Hurricane Beryl early Wednesday morning as it headed to Jamaica in the afternoon and to the Cayman Islands
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 stem possible flooding
The White House said Sunday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had sent emergency responders, search-and-rescue teams, bottled water, and other resources to areas on the Texas coast in anticipation of the hurricane.
Several coastal counties called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas that are prone to flooding.
Local officials also banned camping on beaches and urged tourists traveling on the Fourth of July holiday weekend to move RVs from coastal parks.
Beryl earlier this week battered Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane but causing no injuries or deaths before shrinking into a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatan Peninsula.
