Hurricane Beryl knocks out power to over 1 million in Texas – NBC 6 South Florida

Power outages are increasing along the Texas coast after Beryl made landfall Monday and pummeled Houston with heavy rain and powerful winds as the storm moved inland.

According to Houston-based CenterPoint Energy, more than a million homes and businesses lost power within hours of Beryl’s landfall. High waters quickly closed streets in Houston and flood warnings were issued across much of the Texas coast.

The National Weather Service expected Beryl to weaken to a tropical storm on Monday and a tropical depression on Tuesday, predicting a turn toward the northeast and an increase in speed Monday night and Tuesday. The storm reached the United States after leaving a trail of destruction over the past week in Mexico and the Caribbean.

The center of the storm made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane around 4 a.m. about 85 miles (136 kilometers) southwest of Houston, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (128.7 kph) and moving north at 12 mph (19.3 kph), the National Weather Service reported. As of Monday morning, the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph).

High waters quickly began closing roads around Houston, which was again under flood warnings after severe storms in recent months washed away neighborhoods and knocked out power in the nation’s fourth-largest city.

More than 1,000 flights have been canceled at Houston’s two airports, according to tracking data from FlightAware.

Beryl dumped torrential rain on Houston after making landfall and was expected to bring strong winds to eastern Texas near Louisiana as the storm tracked north after making landfall.

“Beryl is moving inland, but it’s not the end of the story yet,” said Jack Beven, senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center.

A hurricane warning remains in effect for the Texas coast from Mesquite Bay north to Port Bolivar, the center said.

The center of the storm is expected to move toward eastern Texas on Monday, then across the lower Mississippi Valley to the Ohio Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday, the weather service said.

Residents along the Texas coast boarded up their windows and evacuated coastal towns. The storm is expected to make landfall early Monday in the middle of the Texas coast around Matagorda Bay, an area about 100 miles (161 kilometers) south of Houston, but officials warned its path could still change.

As the storm approached the coast, Texas officials warned Sunday that it could cause power outages and flooding, but also expressed concern that too few residents and vacationers in Beryl’s path had heeded warnings to leave.

“One of the things that’s a little bit concerning to us is we’ve looked at all the routes leaving the coast and the maps are still green,” said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is serving as the state’s acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is traveling abroad. “So we’re not seeing a lot of people leaving.”

The tropical storm’s winds extended 115 miles (185 kilometers) from the center, and the hurricane center warned residents to prepare for possible flash flooding in parts of central, upper and eastern Texas and Arkansas as the storm gradually turns north and then northeast later Monday.

Along the Texas coast, many residents and business owners took standard storm precautions but also expressed uncertainty about the storm’s intensity.

In Port Lavaca, Jimmy May taped plywood over the windows of his power company and said he wasn’t worried about the potential storm surge. He recalled that his business had escaped flooding during a previous hurricane that brought a 20-foot storm surge.

“In the city, you know, if you’re in the low-lying areas, obviously you have to get out of there,” he said.

At the nearby marina, Percy Roberts showed his neighbor Ken Waller how to properly secure his boat as strong winds blew in from the bay Sunday night.

“This will actually be the first hurricane I’m going to deal with,” Waller said, noting he was a little nervous but felt safe following Roberts’ lead. “Pray for the best, but expect the worst, I guess.”

Beryl, the first storm to strengthen into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, killed at least 11 people as it barreled through the Caribbean toward Texas. The storm ripped off doors, windows and roofs with devastating winds and a storm surge fueled by record Atlantic heat.

On three occasions in its single week of existence, Beryl saw its wind speed increase by 56 km/h (35 mph) in 24 hours or less, which meets the official definition of rapid intensification according to the weather service.

Beryl’s explosive growth into an unprecedented early storm indicates the state of warm water in the Atlantic and Caribbean and what the Atlantic hurricane belt can expect for the remainder of the storm season, experts said.

Texas officials warned residents along the coast to prepare for possible flooding, heavy rain and strong winds. The hurricane warning extends from Baffin Bay, south of Corpus Christi, to Sargent, south of Houston.

Beryl could also bring heavy rain to Houston, where storms in recent months have knocked out power in the nation’s fourth-largest city and flooded neighborhoods. A flash flood warning was in effect across a wide swath of the Texas coast, where forecasters expected Beryl to dump up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain in some areas.

Potential storm surges of between 4 and 7 feet (1.22 to 2.13 meters) above ground level were forecast around Matagorda. The warnings extended to the same coastal areas where Hurricane Harvey made landfall in 2017 as a Category 4 hurricane, much stronger than Beryl’s expected intensity by the time the storm made landfall.

The storm made landfall on the Mexican coast near Tulum as a Category 2 storm early Friday.

People looking to fly out of the area saw the window close as Beryl moved closer. Hundreds of flights from Houston’s two major commercial airports were delayed by mid-afternoon Sunday, and dozens more were canceled, according to data from FlightAware.

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

The White House said Sunday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had sent emergency responders, search and rescue teams, bottled water and other resources along the coast.

Several coastal counties have called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas prone to flooding. Local officials have also banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling over the July 4 weekend to move their recreational vehicles out of coastal parks.

Last week, Beryl hit 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.

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

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Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas. Associated Press reporters Margery A. Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and Julie Walker in New York contributed to the report.