HOUSTON — Beryl rushed across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on a collision course with Texas. The hurricane is expected to strengthen and regain hurricane status. The hurricane will approach the coast on Sunday and make landfall the following day with heavy rain, howling winds and a dangerous storm surge.
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 were under tropical storm warnings.
“We expect the storm to make landfall along the Texas coast sometime on Monday, if the current forecast holds,” said Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “If that happens, it will most likely be a Category 1 hurricane.”
On Saturday evening, Beryl was about 330 miles (535 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi with top sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h), according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving toward the northwest at 13 mph (20 km/h).
The first storm that developed into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths when it tore through the Caribbean earlier this week. It then pounded Mexico as a Category 2 Hurricanewhich toppled trees but caused no injuries or deaths. The storm then weakened to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatán Peninsula.
Authorities in Texas warned people along the coastline to be prepared for possible flooding, heavy rain and wind.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is in Taiwan, has 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 Texas residents in Beryl’s path as it makes landfall and moves across the state over the next 24 hours,” Patrick said in a statement Saturday.
Some coastal cities called for voluntary evacuations from low-lying areas prone to flooding, banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling over the Fourth of July weekend to remove their recreational vehicles from coastal parks.
Mitch Thames, a spokesman for Matagorda County, said authorities have issued a voluntary evacuation request for the county’s coastal areas, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Houston.
“Our number one goal is the health and safety of all of our visitors and of course our residents. I’m not too worried about our residents. The people who live there are used to this, they get it,” Thames said.
In Corpus Christi, officials asked visitors to shorten their trips and return home early if possible. Residents were advised to secure their homes by covering windows if necessary and using sandbags to protect against possible flooding.
For the past three days, traffic has been nonstop at an Ace Hardware store in the city as customers bought tarps, rope, duct tape, sandbags and generators, employee Elizabeth Landry said Saturday.
“They’re just worried about the wind, the rain,” she said. “They want to prepare just in case.”
Ben Koutsoumbaris, general manager of Island Market on Padre Island in Corpus Christi, said there’s “definitely been a lot of buzz about the approaching storm,” with customers stocking up on food and beverages, particularly meat and beer.
“I’ve heard talk of hurricane parties,” he said over the phone.
In Refugio County, north of Corpus Christi, authorities issued a mandatory evacuation order for the 6,700 residents.
Before Beryl reached Mexico, she made destruction in JamaicaSt. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados. Three deaths were reported in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica.
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Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed.