HOUSTON (AP) — Beryl Warm water The hurricane, which is on a collision course with Texas in the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to strengthen back into a hurricane and approach the coast on Sunday before making landfall the next day bringing heavy rain, strong winds and a dangerous storm surge.
Hurricane warnings and storm surge watches were in effect for a wide swath of the coast from Baffin Bay south of Corpus Christi to Sargent south of Houston, while tropical storm watches were in effect for the rest of the country.
“If current forecasts hold true, we expect this hurricane to make landfall somewhere along the Texas coast sometime on Monday,” said Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “If that happens, it will likely become a Category 1 hurricane.”
As of Saturday night, Beryl was about 330 miles (535 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), and was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center.
The fastest developing storm Category 5 hurricane In the Atlantic, storm Beryl killed at least 11 people as it passed through the Caribbean earlier this week. Mexico hits category 2 hurricaneIt downed trees but caused no deaths or injuries and weakened to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatan Peninsula.
Texas officials warned residents along the coast to prepare for flooding, heavy rain and strong winds.
While Governor Greg Abbott is visiting Taiwan, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, who is acting as the governor, issued a precautionary disaster declaration for 121 counties.
“Beryl is a powerful storm and high winds and potential flooding will pose a serious threat to Texans in Beryl’s path upon landfall and as it moves through the state over the next 24 hours,” Patrick said in a statement Saturday.
Several coastal cities called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying flood-prone areas, banned camping on beaches and urged tourists traveling over the Independence Weekend to move recreational vehicles from coastal parks.
Matagorda County spokesman Mitch Thames said officials had issued a voluntary evacuation order for coastal areas of the county, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Houston.
“Our No. 1 goal is the health and safety of all our visitors and of course our residents. We’re not that concerned about our residents. The people who live over there are used to this situation and they understand it,” Thames said.
In Corpus Christi, officials urged tourists to shorten their trips and return home early if possible, and residents were advised to make their homes safe from flooding by boarding up windows or using sandbags if necessary.
The city’s Ace Hardware store has seen a steady stream of customers for the past three days as customers buy tarps, rope, duct tape, sandbags, generators and other items, employee Elizabeth Landry said Saturday.
“They’re just worried about the wind and the rain,” she said. “They want to be prepared just in case.”
Ben Coutzonvaris, general manager of Island Market on Padre Island in Corpus Christi, said customers have been stocking up on food and drinks, especially meat and beer, and “there’s definitely a lot of buzz about the coming storm.”
In Refugio County, north of Corpus Christi, officials issued mandatory evacuations for 6,700 residents.
Before arriving in Mexico, Beryl The Destruction of JamaicaSaint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Barbados. Three deaths have been reported in Grenada, three in Saint 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.
