Hurricane Beryl causes power outages for nearly a million homes and businesses

MATAGORDA, Texas (AP) — Power outages are growing along the Texas coast after Beryl made landfall Monday, battering Houston with heavy rains and strong winds as the storm moved inland.

According to CenterPoint Energy in Houston, more than 1 million homes and businesses were without power for hours after Beryl made landfall. High tides quickly began closing streets across Houston, and flood warnings were in effect across much of the Texas coast.

The National Weather Service expected Beryl to weaken to a tropical storm Monday and a tropical depression Tuesday, and predicted a turn to the northeast and increase in speed Monday night and Tuesday. The storm arrived in the U.S. after leaving a trail of destruction across Mexico and the Caribbean over the past week.

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

High water quickly closed roads around Houston, which was again under flood warnings following severe storms in recent months washed away neighborhoods and knocked out power in the country’s fourth-largest city.

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

Beryl dropped heavy rains on Houston upon arrival and was expected to bring damaging winds to eastern Texas, near Louisiana, as the storm tracked north after arrival.

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

Beryl strengthened and became a hurricane again on Sunday evening. The storm had weakened after leaving a path of deadly destruction through parts of Mexico And the Caribbean.

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

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

People along the Texas coast boarded up windows and left beach communities under evacuation orders. As the storm approached the coast on Sunday, Texas officials warned of power outages and flooding, but they also expressed concern that not enough residents and beach vacationers in Beryl’s path had heeded warnings to leave.

“One of the things that concerns us a little bit is we’ve looked at all the roads 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 travels abroad. “So we’re not seeing a lot of people leaving.”

Tropical storm-force winds reached up to 115 miles (185 kilometers) from the center, and the hurricane center warned residents to be prepared for possible flooding in parts of central, upper and eastern Texas, as well as Arkansas, as the storm gradually turns north and northeast later Monday.

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

In Port Lavaca, Jimmy May, who secured plywood over the windows of his electric company, said he wasn’t worried about the potential storm surge. He recalled that his business had escaped flooding in a previous hurricane that brought a 20-foot (6-meter) storm surge.

“If you’re in the city, you know, if you’re in the low-lying areas, you obviously 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 a heavy wind blew up off the bay on Sunday evening.

“This is actually the first hurricane I’m going to experience,” said Waller, who noted that he’s a little nervous but feels safe following Roberts’ lead. “Pray for the best, but expect the worst, I guess.”

The first storm that developed into a Category 5 hurricane In the Atlantic Ocean, Beryl killed at least 11 people as it swept through the Caribbean on its way to Texas. The storm ripped off doors, windows and roofs with devastating winds and storm surges fueled by the record heat of the Atlantic Ocean.

During the week of Beryl’s existence, wind speeds have increased by 56 km/h (35 mph) three times in 24 hours or less. This is the official weather service definition of rapid intensification.

The explosive growth of Beryl into an unprecedented early storm indicates that hot water of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean and what the Atlantic hurricane belt can expect for the rest of the storm season, experts said.

Officials in Texas warned people along the entire coastline to prepare for possible flooding, heavy rain and wind. The hurricane warning extended from Baffin Bay, south of Corpus Christi, to Sargent, south of Houston.

Beryl lurked as another potential heavy rain event for Houston, which has seen storms in recent months power off in the fourth largest city in the country and flooded neighborhoodsA flash flood warning was in effect for much of coastal Texas, where meteorologists expected Beryl to drop as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain in some areas.

Potential storm surges were forecast to be between 4 and 7 feet (1.22 and 2.13 meters) above ground level around Matagorda. The warnings were extended to the same coastal areas where Hurricane Harvey made landfall in 2017 as a Category 4 hurricane. This hurricane was much more powerful than the expected intensity of Beryl when the storm made landfall.

Those hoping to catch a flight out of the area saw a closing window for air travel as Beryl approached. Hundreds of flights from Houston’s two major commercial airports were delayed Sunday afternoon and dozens were canceled, according to FlightAware data.

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.

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

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

Beryl hit Mexico last week as a Category 2 hurricane, toppling trees but not injuring or killing anyone. It then weakened to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatán Peninsula.

Before reaching Mexico, Beryl caused devastation in Jamaica, Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Three people were reported dead in Grenada, three in St. 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.