Beryl Hits Texas as Hurricane; Leaves Thousands Without Power

"Beryl" made landfall in Texas, near Matagorda, as a Category 1 hurricane. The storm surge and strong winds left over a million people without power.

The meteorological phenomenon struck around 4:00 a.m., approximately 85 miles southwest of Houston. Maximum sustained winds were 80 mph, moving north at 12 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Power outages are increasing along the Texas coast. More than a million homes and businesses lost electricity, according to CenterPoint Energy.

Waters began to block roads quickly in Houston. The city was under flood alerts after recent storms had flooded neighborhoods and caused power outages.

"Beryl" was expected to weaken to a tropical storm by Monday and to a tropical depression by Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). A northeast turn and faster movement were forecast between today and Tuesday.

The hurricane reached the United States after leaving a trail of destruction in Mexico and the Caribbean over the past week. More than a thousand flights were canceled at Houston's airports, according to FlightAware.

"Beryl is moving inland, but this is not the end of the story," said Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center.

The first downpours hit Houston. "Beryl" was expected to bring dangerous winds to eastern Texas, near Louisiana, on its northward path.

The storm's center will move over eastern Texas on Monday and then through the lower Mississippi Valley towards the Ohio Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday, the NWS indicated.

People in Texas boarded up windows and evacuated coastal towns under evacuation orders. Authorities warned of the risk of power outages and flooding and expressed concern that not enough residents or vacationers had left the projected path of "Beryl."

Texas authorities warned people along the entire coastline to prepare for possible floods, downpours, and wind. The hurricane alert extended from Baffin Bay, south of Corpus Christi, to Sargent, south of Houston.

There was a flash flood warning for a wide area of the Texas coast. Meteorologists expected up to 10 inches of rain in some areas.

"Beryl" regained hurricane strength last night. It had weakened to a tropical storm after leaving a deadly trail of destruction across the Yucatán Peninsula and some Caribbean Islands.

During its path over Grenada, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, and Venezuela, it caused at least 11 deaths. Tropical storm-force winds extended 115 miles from the "eye."

The U.S. National Hurricane Center warned residents to prepare for possible flash floods in parts of Texas, as well as Arkansas, as the storm gradually turns north and then northeast today.

Along the Texas coast, many residents took typical storm precautions but also expressed uncertainty about the storm's intensity.

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