Beryl to bring high winds, street flooding to Houston area

Residents can expect street flooding, hurricane-force winds and widespread power outages as Beryl sweeps through the city Monday in what local meteorologists predict will be a fast-moving storm that could wipe out the Houston area in about 12 hours.

Classified as a tropical storm as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, Beryl is expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane by the time it hits the central Texas coast early Monday. The storm, which is expected to make landfall around Corpus Christi, is expected to bring 5 to 10 inches of rain throughout Harris County, with scattered areas likely to receive more. The National Hurricane Center is predicting “life-threatening” storm surges along the Texas coast, including Matagorda Bay and Galveston Bay, as well as localized flash and urban flooding in the Houston area.

Matt Lanza, meteorologist and editor of Space City Weather, said the storm will move quickly through Houston on Monday.

“There will be intermittent thunderstorms before that, but conditions will really start to deteriorate after midnight Sunday,” Lanza said. “The storm has picked up a little speed from the last couple of days. The worst of it will likely move south to north from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday and should be out of the area by noon.”

Because the storm is moving quickly, the Houston area is not expected to experience as much flooding as a longer storm, Lanza said. Still, Houston residents should prepare for 5 to 10 inches of rain, localized street flooding and gusty winds for three to four hours.

Beryl’s outer bands of thunderstorms began pounding Houston Sunday morning with short, intense bursts of rain and thunder.

Lanza said the storm is not expected to flood homes or businesses or have an extraordinary impact on the county’s bayous. However, he added, street flooding will be intense and area residents should exercise caution while driving. Lanza suggested people move their vehicles to higher ground if possible.

“Overall, we think the creeks and bayous should be able to handle this amount of rain,” said Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist with the Harris County Flood Control District. “If we start to get to the 8-inch level, that’s a little more concerning. We don’t anticipate significant widespread flooding because the storm is moving pretty quickly and picking up speed as it passes through.”

Lindner’s biggest concern is wind gusts, which could reach 60 to 70 mph throughout the Houston area. He added that residents should expect widespread power outages that will last for days, not just a few hours.

“This isn’t just one little spot like in May,” Lindner said. “Multiple counties are facing this situation, with even worse conditions in Fort Bend, Brazoria and Matagorda counties, where 90 to 100 mph winds could be expected.”

Lindner said residents should seek shelter after 10 p.m. Sunday and stay put if they can until early Monday afternoon. He added that residents can monitor the Flood Control District’s flood warning system to get a better idea of ​​rainfall levels.

“Don’t park your car on the street tonight,” Lindner advised. “Find another place for it.”

Preparing for the storm

Earlier Sunday, the parking lot outside the HEB Meyerland supermarket was abuzz with activity. Shoppers rushed in and out of the grocery store, some to do their weekly shopping, others to get ready for Beryl.

Tina Jordano had come to HEB to buy some last-minute items with her son, Parker.

The couple remembers the impact Harvey had on them: They spent days without power and waded through knee-deep water. While Jordano doesn’t expect Beryl to cause the same level of damage, she said she worries about power outages and potential damage to the roof of her rental home.

Christina Steward described the scene inside the store as “crazy”, saying all the lines at the checkout counters were full, some extending into the aisles.

Steward said she wasn’t worried about Beryl. Other than buying a few extra bottles of water to keep on hand, she said she didn’t do much to prepare for the storm.

“If it happens to us, it happens to us,” said the lifelong Houston resident. “It’s not new to me.”

Official Warnings

Houston Mayor John Whitmire was a little more categorical at an afternoon news conference, saying things were going to get very tense tonight.

“The conditions of the world you go to sleep into are not going to be the same as the conditions of the world you wake up into in the morning,” Whitmire said.

Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adian Garcia said there should be no traffic on Harris County streets as of 10 p.m. Sunday.

METRO services will be suspended after 22:00 on Sunday and will resume at 8:00 on Monday.

Noting that there will be no garbage or recycling pickup Monday, Whitmire asked residents to bring in trash containers and outdoor furniture so they don’t become “flying objects” during the storm.

Randy Macchi, Houston’s public works director, said emergency repairs to the Lake Livingston Dam, which was damaged in the May derecho, would continue Sunday and Monday. The Trinity River Authority last week confirmed a “potential failure watch” at the dam, though it said there was no immediate threat of failure. A dam failure could impact water pressure throughout the city of Houston and in flood-prone areas near Lake Livingston, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of downtown.

Macchi said he was convinced that “whatever happens, they will be able to resist.”

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña reminded residents to reserve 911 calls for “true emergencies” and to use 311 to report non-emergencies.

State Disaster Declaration

At a news conference Sunday afternoon, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, acting as governor with Gov. Greg Abbott on a planned economic visit to East Asia, urged residents and visitors to coastal areas near Corpus Christi and Galveston Island to consider evacuating before Beryl makes landfall.

Patrick issued a disaster declaration covering 121 counties.

Along with Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, Patrick expressed concern about the holiday weekend and people no longer following their normal routines. He called out to people still on the water, urging them to be aware of possible rip currents.

Evacuation routes for coastal areas remained mostly empty Sunday afternoon, raising concerns about whether residents feel safe in the storm’s current path. Patrick said landfall projections could be off by 50 to 60 miles.

“We don’t see a lot of people leaving,” the lieutenant governor said. “You don’t want to be on the road tomorrow. Tomorrow the weather is going to be bad.”

Current projections call for the storm to move rapidly across the state through Tuesday, with tropical storm-force rains expected for a few days after Beryl passes.

Kidd also reminded residents that some of the deadliest consequences of such storms are interior flooding and power outages, which can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning from improper use of generators.

“Property can be rebuilt, but lives can’t,” Patrick said, citing nine people who have already lost their lives in the Caribbean storm. “We don’t want Number 10 to end up in Texas.”

CenterPoint Energy announced that it has activated its emergency response plan, indicating that crews are ready to support the company’s electricity and natural gas restoration efforts.

The company’s catering workforce is approximately 4,500 workers with another 4,500 in mutual aid resources.

CenterPoint’s power outage tracking system remains offline. The map was taken down due to technical difficulties following the May derecho that knocked out power to some 900,000 customers for several days. The utility will provide general outage information every 15 minutes through its Storm Center.

In Fort Bend County, officials have asked residents to shelter in place during the storm and clear roads for emergency personnel during what they are calling a “wind and water” event. The county is expected to see between 5 and 10 inches of rain, with wind gusts up to 73 mph in the next 24 hours.

The county expects massive power outages and damage, but the county’s three major reservoirs should be able to contain the rapid influx of water, officials said.

Reporters Tim Carlin, Akhil Ganesh, Miranda Dunlap and Briah Lumpkins contributed to this report.

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