Tropical Storm Beryl has strengthened into a hurricane and is expected to strengthen further before making landfall on the southeast coast of Texas tonight.
The hurricane is barreling toward Houston with sustained winds of up to 75 mph (120 kph) and is located 106 miles (170 km) east of the city of Corpus Christi, the National Hurricane Center said.
It is expected to be a Category 2 storm by the time it makes landfall near Houston.
More than a million people in Texas are under hurricane warnings and are bracing for storm surges, flash flooding and high winds.
Acting Governor Dan Patrick declared 120 counties disaster areas ahead of the storm and warned that Beryl “will be a deadly storm.”
Schools, airports and major oil transport companies have been shut down and will remain closed all day Monday.
A Category 5 hurricane, Beryl has already left a trail of destruction in Mexico and the Caribbean.
WATCH: Beryl approaches Texas coast, grows before making landfall, officials issue storm surge warnings
Graig GraziosiJuly 8, 2024 07:00
Texas residents prepare for Hurricane Beryl
Shweta SharmaJuly 8, 2024 06:12
Beryl was upgraded to a hurricane before landing
With maximum sustained winds increasing to near 75 mph (120 km/h), Beryl has now been upgraded to a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.
The hurricane is expected to strengthen further before making landfall off the Texas coast on Monday, it said.
Beryl was an extraordinary storm, setting records as the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever documented.
The hurricane caused widespread devastation in the Caribbean, particularly on the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Mayreau, Union and Grenada.
Beryl was one of the most powerful storms to ever hit Jamaica, leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity.
Shweta SharmaJuly 8, 2024 05:19
Beryl is expected to be the first hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. of the 2024 season
The National Weather Service continues to predict that Tropical Storm Beryl will hit Texas as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday morning.
This makes Beryl the first Atlantic hurricane to hit the U.S. during the summer and fall 2024 hurricane season.
Graig GraziosiJuly 8, 2024 04:59
Houston Airport May Cancel Flights as Beryl Approaches
Houston Airport has indicated that flight delays or cancellations are possible as Beryl approaches Texas.
Also, for flights departing to or arriving at destinations outside the direct path of the storm, “airlines may need to adjust their flight schedules and routes due to the overall impact of the hurricane on their network.”
People were urged not to seek shelter at the airport during the storm.
“As the storm approaches and people plan to stay indoors and be safe from the storm, we want to remind everyone that our airports are not equipped to serve as storm shelters. We do not have enough supplies and personnel to accommodate people seeking shelter during the storm,” the report said.
Shweta SharmaJuly 8, 2024 04:53
National Hurricane Center predicts peak storm surge for Texas coast
According to the NHC, there is a risk of life-threatening storm surge flooding along the Texas coast from Mesquite Bay to Sabine Pass, including Matagorda Bay and Galveston Bay.
Shweta SharmaJuly 8, 2024 04:33
Storm Beryl approaching with 70mph winds as conditions ‘deteriorate’
Conditions are expected to deteriorate with dangerous storm surges, flash flooding and strong winds as Beryl is expected to make landfall as a hurricane along the Texas coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.
According to the 10 p.m. CDT advisory, Beryl is located 75 miles (120 km) southeast of Matagorda, Texas, and about 110 miles (180 km) east of Corpus Christi, Texas.
The storm is moving with sustained wind speeds of up to 110 km/h.
Shweta SharmaJuly 8, 2024 04:18
Floridians join forces to help victims of Hurricane Beryl
Communities in Florida are joining forces to help other communities affected by Hurricane Beryl.
The storm killed at least nine people in the Caribbean and also hit the island of Carriacou in Grenada earlier this week.
Florida residents, no strangers to the power of hurricanes, have begun donating essential items and volunteering their time to prepare the donated goods for shipment to hurricane-affected communities that need them most.
Graig GraziosiJuly 8, 2024 04:00
Texas residents brace for power outages and flooding as Beryl moves closer to land
Rain and increasing winds battered residents along the Texas coast as powerful Storm Berly approached, leaving a trail of destruction across parts of Mexico and the Caribbean.
Although Beryl was still a tropical storm as it moved toward Texas on Sunday, the storm threatened to regain hurricane strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall Monday morning.
The storm was expected to make landfall in the mid-Texas coast around Matagorda Bay, an area about 100 miles (161 kilometers) south of Houston. However, officials warned that its path could still change.
Texas officials warned that the storm would cause power outages and flooding, but also expressed concern that not enough coastal residents and beach vacationers in Beryl’s path were heeding warnings to leave. “One of the things that concerns us a little bit is we’ve looked at all the roads that leave the coast and the maps are still green,” said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is serving as the state’s acting governor.
Shweta SharmaJuly 8, 2024 03:58
When is Beryl expected to make landfall in Texas?
Beryl is expected to make landfall in southeast Texas early Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane.
State officials have issued disaster declarations for 121 counties in advance of the storm’s arrival.
Graig GraziosiJuly 8, 2024 03:00