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Hurricane Beryl live updates: Man killed by fallen tree in Houston area
Hurricane Beryl is slamming Texas with powerful winds and torrential rain.
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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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.
Houston school campuses close as Beryl approaches
The Houston Independent School District announced Sunday that all its campuses will be closed as tropical storm Beryl bears down on the Texas coast and is expected to be a Category 1 hurricane when it makes landfall.
The school district sent out a message Sunday to students, staff and parents that it is canceling summer classes and activities, and closing all campuses and buildings on Monday and Tuesday.
Beryl was a tropical storm on Sunday in the Gulf of Mexico, but is expected to strengthen overnight and make landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.
-ABC News' Gina Sunseri
Beryl could be a Category 1 hurricane when it slams Texas: NHC
Beryl remains a tropical storm but was gaining strength over open warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to be a Category 1 hurricane by Sunday night and is expected to make landfall on the Texas coast early Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
In an update on Beryl's path issued at 10 a.m. CT, the hurricane center said winds generated by Beryl had slightly increased to 65 mph.
"Beryl [is] becoming better organized and forecast to become a hurricane before landfall," the hurricane center said in its latest update.
The storm is expected to make landfall on the middle Texas Coast near Matagorda Bay on Monday.
A Hurricane Warning has been issued for the Gulf Coast from Baffin Bay north to San Luis Pass. A Storm Surge Warning was also issued for the coast of Texas from High Island to Sabine Pass.
"Beryl is forecast to become a hurricane again later today. Continued strengthening is expected overnight before Beryl reaches the Texas coast," according to the hurricane center's statement.
The hurricane center warned that a few tornadoes could also occur along the middle and upper Texas Coast through Sunday night and across eastern Texas and western
Louisiana on Monday.
In addition to storm surges of up to 6 feet, Beryl is expected to dump heavy rain on the Texas coastal cities.
"Heavy rainfall of 5 to 10 inches with localized amounts of 15 inches is expected across portions of the middle and upper Texas Gulf Coast and eastern Texas beginning today through Monday night," the hurricane center said.
The White House said Sunday that President Joe Biden is monitoring Beryl as FEMA prepositions response teams.
"The President and his team continue to monitor Tropical Storm Beryl as it makes its way towards South Texas," a White House official said. "We are in close contact with our state and local counterparts and FEMA has prepositioned response personnel, search and rescue teams, bottled water, meals, tarps and electric generators in case they are needed. On Sunday, FEMA activated its National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) to further support local response efforts."
-ABC News' Daniel Amarante
Winds increase to 80 mph
Hurricane Beryl’s top sustained winds increased to 80 mph, as the storm moved toward the Texas coast.
The Category 1 hurricane was about 30 miles south-southwest of Matagorda at about 1 a.m. local time. It was about 95 miles from Corpus Christi.
The storm was moving north-northwest at about 10 mph, with a turn toward the north expected this morning.
Beryl’s center is expected during the next several hours to make landfall on the middle Texas coast.
-ABC News’ Richard Von Ohlen