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Beryl live updates: Storm strengthens to Category 1 hurricane ahead of Texas landfall

Radar indicated the heaviest rainbands along the eyewall have moved onto land.

Hurricane Beryl strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane as it moved toward the Gulf Coast of Texas, where it's expected makes landfall Monday morning just north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in history, the storm killed at least seven people in the Windward Islands before skirting south of Jamaica, shutting down communications, stranding tourists and delivering storm surge and flooding rain to the island.


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Beryl to make landfall as hurricane Monday morning in Texas

Beryl remained early Sunday a tropical storm with winds of 60 mph.

The storm has been slow to strengthen over the past several hours, which is potentially good news for the residents of the Texas coast.

Even though strengthening is expected, each hour that this storm delays that intensification will help contribute to a weaker storm upon landfall.

A hurricane warning is in effect from Baffin Bay to San Luis Pass.

A storm surge warning is in effect for Corpus Christi Bay, Matagorda Bay, and Galveston Bay. During the peak of the storm on Monday morning, surge may reach 4 to 6 feet above normal tide in Mesquite Bay and Matagorda Bay.

There are also numerous other hurricane watches, tropical storm watches and warnings, and storm surge watches across the Texas coast.

Beryl is still forecast to make landfall near Matagorda Bay as a Category 1 Hurricane on Monday morning.

-ABC News’ Daniel Amarante


Galveston issues voluntary evacuation notice

An island city on the Gulf Coast of Texas issued a voluntary evacuation of the island's west end, Galveston officials said in a press release on Saturday.

While officials feel the chances of tides above five feet are currently very low, tides above that level could prevent travel on major roads and make it difficult for the city to respond to emergencies, the press release said.

Brian Maxwell, Galveston city manager, noted that predictions for the track of Beryl have not changed.

The size of Beryl has expanded slightly, according to the National Weather Service, and as a result, the island’s west end is currently under a storm surge warning.

Mayor Craig Brown "signed the order out of an abundance of caution," said Maxwell.

If residents choose to stay in a low-lying area, they may not be able to safely leave for several hours, and emergency services may not be available while tides remain elevated, emergency management officials said.


Beryl now less than 400 miles from Corpus Christi

Beryl, now less than 400 miles from Corpus Christi, remains a tropical storm with winds of 60 mph, moving at 13 mph.

Beryl is moving over water that is slightly warmer than normal, by 1 to 2 degrees.

As Beryl approaches the Texas coast it will move over much warmer waters, 4 and 5 degrees above normal. The warmer water is expected to help boost Beryl back into a hurricane before making landfall northeast of Corpus Christi on Monday morning.

Hurricane Warnings have been issued for parts of Texas, from Baffin Bay northward to Sargent. Tropical Storm Warnings are now issued north of Sargent to High Island.

Landfall may occur with the center of circulation most likely northeast of Corpus Christi -- the greatest impacts remaining north of that city as well. There is still time for this track to change over the next 24 hours.

The last hurricane to make landfall in Texas was Nicholas in September 2021, which was a Category 1 and made landfall on the northern side of East Matagorda Bay.

The last hurricane to make landfall just north of Corpus Christi was Harvey in 2017 as a Category 4. Harvey then stalled and dumped historic rainfall over southeast Texas. Beryl is not expected to stall and therefore similar impacts as Harvey are not expected, in terms of rainfall, wind or storm surge.

A Hurricane Watch has been issued for the entire coast south of San Luis Pass due to the hurricane-strength, over 74 mph sustained wind expected along the Texas coast.


Hurricane watch in effect for parts of Texas

A Hurricane Watch is in effect in Texas from the Rio Grande Valley to San Luis Pass, just west of Galveston Island, with a Storm Surge Watch from the mouth of the Rio Grande northward to High Island, Texas.

Storm surge is forecast to be 3 to 5 feet in Corpus Christi and Matagorda Bay, and 2 to 4 feet in Galveston Bay. These numbers are subject to change depending on the exact track and intensity of the storm as it approaches landfall.

Residents along the Texas coast need to be prepared for a powerful hurricane with life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds, and significant flooding.

Flooding rain is often the most impactful aspect of tropical systems. In terms of rainfall amounts, much of southeastern Texas is looking at 5 to 10 inches, with locally higher amounts up to 15 inches. Most of this rain will fall on Monday and Tuesday.


Beryl is closing in on Texas with up to 7 feet of storm surge forecast

The combination of storm surge and tide will cause normally dry areas near the Texas coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Officials are forecasting up to 7 feet of storm surge, above normal tide levels for Matagorda Bay and Port O’Connor to San Luis Pass.

The possible storm surge is forecast to reach up to 6 feet in Galveston Bay, officials said.

Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances, according to the NHC.