Beryl ‘battering’ eastern Texas, NHC says
A “life-threatening” storm surge, strong winds and heavy rainfall is “battering” eastern Texas, the National Hurricane center said in its 6 a.m. ET update.
Beryl was moving inland, the center said, accompanied with damaging winds hitting the coast.
NHC said a monitoring station in Freeport recorded gusts of upto 92 miles an hour, with another station in San Bernard recording sustained winds of up to 52 miles an hour.
More than 2,500 first responders on call for Hurricane Beryl
The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) deployed 2,500 first responders and 1,200 vehicles and machinery ahead of Beryl’s arrival.
This includes “swiftwater” boat squads; a public works response team; the Texas A&M Forest Service; the Texas National Guard, which has a Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters; Texas Highway Patrol troopers, who have helicopters with hoist capabilities, as well as teams from several other departments.
FEMA is on and with more than 100 staff prepared with 500,000 ready meals, 800,000 litres of water, 20,000 tarps, 2,500 rolls of plastic, and generators.
“Beryl is a resilient storm, and it poses a serious threat for Texans in its path at landfall and the following 24 hours as it moves through Texas,” acting Gov. Dan Patrick said in a press conference yesterday.
Windows boarded and signs removed in Texas
Apartment windows are boarded up in Corpus Christi, Texas on Sunday in preparation for Beryl’s arrival.Local business owners remove hanging signs ahead of the hurricane’s arrival in Galveston, Texas.
Power outages hit more than 100,000 Texans
At least 102,000 Texans were without power as of 5:20 a.m. ET, according to the power-tracking platform PowerOutage.us.
Some 12,000 of those were in Matagorda in southern Texas, where Beryl made landfall.
Beryl makes landfall near Matagorda on Texas’ Gulf Coast
Hurricane Beryl has made landfall on the Gulf Coast of Texas, near Matagorda, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Monday.
The hurricane was about 85 miles south south-west of Houston, packing maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. That speed puts Beryl squarely within the bracket of a Category 1 storm.
How strong is a Category 1 hurricane?
A Category 1 hurricane is the lowest of the 5 categories, but it’s a still a major event that will prompt a wide-scale emergency response.
The Saffir-Simpson scale is based on maximum sustained wind speed — Category 1 means the storm will have consistent winds of 74-95 mph.
This means very dangerous winds that will cause damage. Well-constructed frame homes will sustain damage to their roofs, while large tree branches will snap and shallow-rooted tree will be taken down.
Perhaps most significantly, it could mean extensive damage to power networks which could take days to fix.
Beryl strengthens to Category 1 hurricane, expected to make landfall in Texas
Beryl strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane Sunday night, ahead of its anticipated arrival on the Texas coast, where it could bring a life-threatening storm surge and strong winds, U.S. forecasters said.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds increased to 75 mph late Sunday, upgrading it from its status as a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center, citing National Weather Service radar and reports from an Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter aircraft.
Read the full story here
Hurricane Beryl begins to impact Texas
The effects of Hurricane Beryl are already being felt in Texas. Flash flooding, strong winds and a storm surge are expected for early Monday and beyond. Early Today’s Frances Rivera and NBC News meteorologist Angie Lassman look at what is already here and what is yet to come.
