Beryl churns toward Michigan: Heavy rain, severe weather risk across much of US

The remnants of what was once major Hurricane Beryl are still impacting the United States, weeks after forming off the African Coast. Today, what’s left of that storm are churning into Michigan and are expected to bring heavy rains here through Wednesday.

Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane on Monday near Houston, Texas. It’s since been downgraded to a post-tropical depression, but its impacts are still being felt. As the center of low pressure moves inland, it is getting picked up by an upper-level disturbance. This merging of the two systems is steering the energy and moisture associated with Beryl toward Michigan.

The main impacts for Michigan will be heavy rain. Tropical moisture from Beryl is being transported by upper-level winds toward Michigan, causing several hours of widespread moderate to heavy rain. A Flood Watch has been issued by the National Weather Service to address any flooding concerns. While winds are not the main concern, gusts toward 30mph are possible. Wednesday will certainly be the day for indoor plans.

Beryl, like all hurricanes, started out as a tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa. It made landfall in Grenada as a Category 4 hurricane. After returning to open water, it soon became the earliest Category 5 Hurricane to form in the Atlantic on record.

Remaining at major hurricane strength, Beryl tracked just south of Jamaica, bringing devastating winds and flooding before making another landfall in the Yucatan Peninsula. After this, the track was highly uncertain. One final landfall was expected, but this was originally thought to be in Mexico. However, with each forecast update came a slight northerly shift.

On Monday, it made landfall in Texas as a Category 1 Hurricane. Extreme flooding was reported near Houston. A significant tornado outbreak occurred in Louisiana as well, with one National Weather Service office issuing 67 tornado warnings in one day!

According to the Associated Press, at least seven fatalities attributed to Beryl have been reported in the United States. In Texas alone, over two million people are without power in the storm’s aftermath. Making matters worse, extreme heat with “feels like” temperatures in the 100s are ongoing in Texas just days after landfall, posing additional health risks as cleanup efforts continue.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the main piece of Beryl sits near the Arkansas-Tennessee border, moving northeast. Severe weather is expected for areas north and mainly east of the center of the system, with flooding likely for areas northwest of the center.