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Hurricane Beryl live updates: Storm makes landfall in Texas as Category 1 hurricane
Beryl is bringing dangerous storm surge to the Gulf Coast.
Hurricane Beryl strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall along the Gulf Coast of Texas early Monday morning.
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 becomes a hurricane again as it heads toward Texas
Beryl has become a Category 1 hurricane as it heads toward Texas, the National Hurricane Center announced just after midnight ET on Monday.
Hurricane Beryl's maximum sustained winds have increased to 75 mph. The storm is expected to strengthen before it makes landfall on the Texas coast.
Currently, Beryl is about 65 miles from Matagorda, Texas and 105 miles from Corpus Christi.
Beryl expected to become hurricane before reaching landfall overnight
Beryl remains a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph as of Sunday evening. However, the storm is expected to become a hurricane again before making landfall.
Currently Beryl is about 75 miles from Matagorda, Texas.
The storm is expected near Matagorda between 3 and 5 a.m. local time.
Beryl’s winds reach 70 mph as it heads toward Texas coast
As Texans brace for hurricane conditions, officials said Beryl currently has 70 mph winds as it moves toward the coast.
By Sunday evening, the tropical storm was located 105 miles southeast of Matagorda, Texas, moving northwest at a rate of 12 mph.
Officials urge Texans on the coast to evacuate
In a press conference Sunday, Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick urged people living on the state’s coast to evacuate before the storm hits.
"We don't see many people leaving," Patrick said. "You don't want to be on the road tomorrow."
Texas Division of Emergency Management officials said over 50 ambulances are on standby to assist with evacuating hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, if needed.
"This storm has already left nine deaths in its path through the Caribbean. We don't want number 10 to be in Texas," Patrick said.
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.