Texas expects arrival of storm "Beryl"
After passing through Mexico by train, Hurricane "Beryl" has moved towards the US state of Texas. The storm, which weakened over the Yucatan Peninsula, is expected to reach southern Texas by Sunday evening or early Monday morning - likely regaining hurricane strength after crossing the Gulf of Mexico.
Beryl is likely to make landfall between Brownsville and slightly north of Corpus Christi, said Jack Beven from the National Hurricane Center. Experts expect a strong Category 1 storm, but warned that a longer-than-expected journey over water could make this a conservative estimate. It would not be surprising if "Beryl" developed into a large hurricane again, said Jeff Masters, Co-Founder of Weather Underground. "Category 2 is more likely, but we should not rule out Category 3."
"Beryl" has caused at least 11 deaths in this week as a Category 5 hurricane in the Caribbean. After passing over Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane, no fatalities or injuries were reported. Texas authorities warned along the entire Texas coast of flooding, heavy rainfall, and wind. The Hurricane Center issued a hurricane and storm surge warning for the coast from the mouth of the Rio Grande to the San-Luis-Pass south of Houston on Friday.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who is representing Governor Greg Abbott, declared 40 districts as disaster areas in advance. "Everyone along the (Texas) coast should pay attention to this storm," said Patrick. "We hope and pray that it will not be more than a rain event."
Some Texas coastal cities called for voluntary evacuations in flood-prone areas, banned camping on the beach, and ordered tourists to remove their RVs from coastal campsites. Corpus Christi city officials announced on Friday that they had distributed 10,000 sandbags in less than two hours and had used up their entire supply.
After completing its journey through Mexico by train, Hurricane "Beryl" shifted its course towards Texas. Despite weakening over the Yucatan Peninsula, the storm is anticipated to regain hurricane strength after traversing the Gulf of Mexico. Upon reaching Texas, "Beryl" is predicted to make landfall between Brownsville and Corpus Christi, potentially escalating into a strong Category 2 or even Category 3 storm.
