Houston area braces for heavy rain as Beryl nears Texas coast – Houston Public Media

Heavy rain and flooding are likely in the Houston area as Beryl moves toward the Texas coast.

Beryl, a tropical storm that occurred Saturday afternoon, is expected to make landfall Monday as a Category 1 hurricane somewhere between Corpus Christi and Matagorda Bay.

“We expect the storm to make landfall somewhere on the Texas coast sometime Monday, if current forecasts are correct,” said Jack Beven, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “If that were to happen, it would most likely be a Category 1 hurricane.”

Forecasters are predicting up to 8 inches of rain in parts of the region Monday and Tuesday. The center of the storm is expected to pass west of Houston.

Tropical storm-force winds could be a problem for Galveston and other coastal areas south of the city. Officials also warn of a potential storm surge of 2 to 4 feet. Galveston County issued a precautionary disaster declaration Saturday.

RELATED: Houston Public Media Hurricane and Tropical Storm Tracker

A hurricane watch extends from the southern tip of Texas to High Island.

Some Texas coastal cities have called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas prone to flooding, banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling over the July 4 holiday weekend to move recreational vehicles from coastal parks.

Mitch Thames, a spokesman for Matagorda County, said Saturday that officials had issued a voluntary evacuation request for coastal areas of the county about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Houston to advise of the large number of visitors to the area for the holiday weekend.

“You always prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I certainly don’t want to ruin our visitors’ holiday weekend. But at the same time, our number one goal is the health and safety of all our visitors and of course our residents. I’m not so much worried about our residents. The people who live there are used to it, they understand,” Thames said.

Corpus Christi is being prepared

In Corpus Christi, officials urged visitors to shorten their stay and return home as soon as possible. Officials urged residents to secure their homes by boarding up windows if necessary and using sandbags to protect against possible flooding.

“We’re taking the storm very seriously and we’re asking the community to take the storm very seriously as well,” Corpus Christi Fire Chief Brandon Wade said at a news conference Friday evening.

Traffic has been backed up for three days at an Ace Hardware store in Corpus Christi as customers buy tarps, ropes, duct tape, sandbags and generators, employee Elizabeth Landry said Saturday.

“They’re just worried about wind and rain,” she said. “They want to be prepared just in case.”

Corpus Christi officials said the city distributed 10,000 sandbags in less than two hours Friday, depleting its supply.

As of Saturday, Beryl was about 410 miles (660 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi and had sustained winds of 60 mph (96 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving toward the west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.