Strong winds and rain will affect swaths of western and southwestern Louisiana as Tropical Storm Beryl aims for the Texas coast, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday morning.
As of 10 a.m. Sunday, Beryl was about 195 miles southeast of Corpus Christi and had top sustained winds of 65 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving northwest at 10 mph. Beryl is not expected to pose a direct impact to Louisiana.
However, topical storm-force winds of 5 to 40 miles per hour could reach parts of Louisiana as early as 2 p.m. Sunday, forecasters say. The range for storm surge extends from the mouth of the Rio Grande near the Texas-Mexico border to Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Grand Chenier, Louisiana.
Parts of Louisiana could see 1 to 4 inches of rain from Beryl. The worst rain threats come Monday, as rain bands associated with the storm move across the region, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Center.
Beryl is expected to intensify over warm Gulf waters, possibly making landfall in Texas as a Category 2 hurricane, National Hurricane Center forecasters said in an update Sunday at 10 a.m.
The present forecast shows Beryl reaching hurricane strength with winds of 75 mph by 10 p.m. this evening and to have made landfall with winds of 85 mph by 10 a.m. Monday.
"Beryl has become better organized this morning. Satellite images show deep convection becoming more symmetric around the center, and Brownsville radar has been showing an eyewall forming, although still open on the northwest side,” said Senior Hurricane Specialist Eric Blake, a Metairie native, in a 10 a.m. forecast discussion message.
The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean earlier in the week. It then battered Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane, toppling trees but causing no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatan Peninsula.
The Associated Press and Mark Schleifstein contributed to this report.
