Beryl expected to hit Houston with near hurricane force

Deadly Tropical Storm Beryl is rapidly gaining strength as it heads toward the southern Texas coast — and it’s expected to hit Houston with near-hurricane force as the city braces for a high impact.

The storm is expected to begin hitting Houston Sunday night and move near the city early Tuesday. It is expected to bring 6 to 8 inches of rainfall to much of the region, which could lead to flooding through Monday.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Beryl is expected to bring intense rain, strong winds, life-threatening storm surge and even possible tornadoes to the Lone Star region.

The hurricane killed 11 people as it moved through the Caribbean last week and is the earliest Category 5 storm on record.

It weakened to a tropical storm as it passed over Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday.

But the weather system is expected to strengthen again and regain hurricane status as it moves over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico toward Matagorda Bay, just north of Corpus Christi, Texas.

Meteorologists predict it will be at least a Category 1 storm, with wind speeds of 75 to 95 mph, but it could reach a Category 3, with wind speeds of 111 to 129 mph, which would make it the strongest storm since the devastating Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

A hurricane warning was issued for much of the coast from Baffin Bay, south of Corpus Christi, to Sargent, south of Houston, and storm surge warnings were also in effect. Other areas are under tropical storm warnings.

“We expect the storm to make landfall somewhere on the Texas coast sometime Monday, if current forecasts are correct,” said Jack Beven, senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

“If it were to happen, it would probably be a Category 1 hurricane.”

Texas officials have warned residents across the coast to prepare for possible flooding, heavy rain and wind.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting for Gov. Greg Abbott while he travels to Taiwan, issued a precautionary disaster declaration for 121 counties.

“Beryl is a determined storm, and the incoming winds and potential flooding will pose a serious threat to Texans in Beryl’s path at landfall and as it tracks across the state for the next 24 hours,” Patrick said in a statement Saturday.

Some cities have called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas prone to flooding.

More than 2,000 responders are on standby to respond to the Beryl accident, including members of the Texas National Guard, search and rescue personnel with the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service and others.

Before hitting Mexico, Beryl caused damage in Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados. Three people were killed in Grenada, three in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica.

With telegraphic reports