NOAA
This satellite image taken at 9:40 p.m. ET on Friday, July 5, 2024, shows Tropical Storm Beryl moving toward the Gulf of Mexico.
CNN
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Tropical Storm Beryl is expected to strengthen as it moves toward the southern Texas coast this weekend, bringing a risk of damaging winds, life-threatening storm surges, and dangerous flooding to Texas beginning Sunday night. It is expected to be the first U.S. landfall storm of the 2024 Atlantic season. Here’s the latest:
• Beryl is expected to regain strength before landing: Beryl, currently a tropical storm, has entered the Gulf of Mexico and was about 545 miles from Corpus Christi, Texas, on Saturday morning. The storm has brought strong winds, torrential rain and dangerous storm surges to much of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula after impacting several Caribbean islands. Beryl is expected to strengthen again on Sunday ahead of its expected final landfall in South Texas.
• Hurricane and storm surge warnings issued: Hurricane and on Friday evening, storm surge warnings were extended eastward along the Texas coast. The Texas coast is under a Hurricane Warning from the mouth of the Rio Grande north to San Luis Pass. A Storm Surge Warning is also in effect for the Texas coast from the Rio Grande north to High Island, including the Harris County coast. A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the northeast coast of Mexico from Barra el Mezquital to the mouth of the Rio Grande.
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• Beryl is expected to strike South Texas: According to the National Hurricane Center, Beryl is expected to make landfall in Corpus Christi on Monday afternoon as a Category 1 hurricane. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the state will likely experience Beryl from Sunday through Monday. “We’re praying and hoping for nothing more than a rain shower, but even a rain shower can be very severe,” Patrick said. “We’re preparing for the worst case scenario across the state.”
• Dangerous storm surge along US Gulf Coast: Tropical storm conditions will be felt along the western Gulf Coast on Sunday, with hurricane conditions expected later in the day. Storm surges of up to 5 feet are forecast for southern portions of the Texas coast. Heavy rainfall of 5 to 10 inches, with local amounts of 15 inches, is forecast across the Texas Gulf Coast and eastern Texas late Sunday through the middle of next week, the National Hurricane Center said. This is expected to cause flash flooding and urban flooding. Rip currents will cause life-threatening beach conditions across much of the Gulf Coast through the weekend.
• At least nine dead from Beryl: Beryl became the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic earlier this week, killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, including two in Jamaica, three in Venezuela, three in Grenada and one person in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
• Beryl deteriorated by climate change: The abnormally warm ocean waters that allowed Beryl to intensify show that this hurricane season will be far from normal. Beryl’s blow to Jamaica was exacerbated by climate change, a new rapid attribution analysis from ClimaMeter found. Modern storms like Beryl that pass close to Jamaica could deliver 30 percent more rain and 10 percent stronger winds compared to similar storms from 1979 to 2001 because of human-caused climate change, the study found.
• How you can help those affected: Jamaicans are assessing the damage after Beryl battered the Caribbean island nation with devastating winds and storm surge. The storm killed two people in the country and left hundreds of thousands of homes without power. Beryl was the strongest storm to hit the country in more than 15 years. Beryl also caused extensive damage in the region, including St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados and Grenada. Several charities are actively distributing aid in the region. Please help support the relief efforts here.
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Everton Evanks walks through his living room on Thursday, July 4, after the roof of his home was blown off by Hurricane Beryl in St. Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica.
Fernando Llano/AP
Soldiers collect branches felled by Hurricane Beryl in Tulum, Mexico on Friday.
Collin Reid/AP
People sit on cots at the National Arena in Kingston, Jamaica on Thursday, which served as a shelter after Hurricane Beryl.
Leo Hudson/AP
A boat damaged by Hurricane Beryl lies on its side on a dock in Kingston on Thursday.
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Simone Francis gathers items from her home that were swept away by Hurricane Beryl on Thursday in Old Harbor, Jamaica.
Paola Chiomante/Reuters
In preparation for the Beryl, yachts are anchored in the Nichupté Lagoon in Cancun, Mexico on Thursday.
Marco Bello/Reuters
A man walks past a fallen tree in Kingston, Jamaica on Thursday.
Marco Bello/Reuters
A car drives past a storm-damaged area in Kingston on Wednesday.
José Luis Gonzalez/Reuters
Workers install wooden panels to cover glass doors at a hotel in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, on Wednesday.
Lucanus Ollivierre/AP
Evacuees from Union Island arrive in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Tuesday.
Arthur Daniel/Reuters
Houses were damaged on the island of Petite Martinique on Tuesday.
Samir Aponte/Reuters
People walk past damaged vehicles in Cumanacoa, Venezuela on Tuesday.
Ricardo Hernandez/AP
Waves from Hurricane Beryl battered a seawall in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Tuesday.
Lucanus Ollivierre/AP
Reverend Winston Alleyne clears trees felled by Hurricane Beryl in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Tuesday.
Ricardo Mazalan/AP
Fishing boats damaged by Hurricane Beryl lie in a pile at Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados on Monday.
Ricardo Mazalan/AP
Sylvia Small waits until she can pull into the Bridgetown Fisheries pier on Monday so she can inspect the damage to her boat in Barbados.
Matthew Dominick/NASA
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick shared this photo of the hurricane as seen from space on Monday. Watching the hurricane with the camera gave him “both an eerie feeling and a high level of excitement as a weather nerd,” he said in a post on X.
Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images
Members of the Barbados Armed Forces clear sand from a street in Oistins, Barbados on Monday.
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A man cleans up water from a damaged restaurant in Hastings, Barbados on Monday.
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Brad Reinhart, senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, monitors Hurricane Beryl on Monday.
Gilbert Bellamy/Reuters
People in Kingston, Jamaica, line up for groceries on Monday as Beryl approaches.
Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images
A man boards a shop window shut in Bridgetown, Barbados on Sunday.
Authorities in Texas are urging residents to prepare for the expected impact of Beryl on coastal areas later this weekend.
“Everyone along the coast should be aware of this storm,” Lt. Gov. Patrick said during a briefing on Friday.
Several counties along the Texas coast have already asked residents to evacuate due to the potentially dangerous conditions Beryl could bring. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has also declared severe weather disasters for 40 counties as the state continues to experience “heavy rainfall, flooding, and strong tropical winds.”
Matagorda County has issued a voluntary evacuation order in advance of Beryl’s arrival, the county’s Emergency Operation Center announced on social media. The order urges people to voluntarily evacuate coastal areas in the county, including Sargent, Matagorda and Palacios.
The Aransas County Emergency Management Department also called for voluntary evacuations.
“Take every precaution to prepare your family for this potentially dangerous weather. Residents in low-lying areas, those with special needs, or those staying in RVs should begin voluntary evacuations immediately,” the county said on Facebook.
In Kleberg County, Judge Rudy Madrid has issued a “voluntary evacuation for Baffin Bay, Loyola Beach and all low-lying areas,” according to a social media post from the city of Kingsville.
Nueces County Judge Connie Scott has asked residents living in low-lying areas along the coast or in need of assistance to evacuate due to the possibility of the storm making landfall as a hurricane, the county posted on social media.
The National Weather Service in Corpus Christi is warning residents that now is “the time to prepare” for Beryl, as forecasts point to it moving further north along the Texas coast.
“Residents should really be aware that tropical storm force winds are expected to arrive Sunday afternoon,” Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo said Friday.
Guajardo asked those visiting the city for the Fourth of July weekend to “consider returning early if you feel you should do so.”
In Houston, the weather service is also asking people to remain vigilant.
“At this time, the main impacts for SE TX remain increased rainfall (Monday/Tuesday) and the potential for tropical storm force winds (34 knots) as early as Sunday morning. Stay tuned and stay informed,” the weather service said on X.
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