At least 2 dead, millions without power as Hurricane Beryl roars through Texas

Hurricane Beryl made landfall along the Texas coast as a Category 1 storm early Monday, unleashing a barrage of severe weather as it moved inland before weakening into a tropical storm still capable of widespread damage.

Through the morning much of eastern Texas was inundated with "life-threatening storm surge," torrential rain and powerful wind gusts of up to 84 mph in the Houston area, the National Hurricane Center said. The dangerous conditions prompted rescue operations, disrupted hundreds of flights, left more than 2 million people without power and caused at least two deaths.

Beryl had sustained winds of over 80 mph as it made landfall at 4 a.m. near Matagorda, a coastal community between Corpus Christi and Galveston, according to the hurricane center. More than five hours later, the sustained winds had diminished to 70 mph, a bit below hurricane force but still capable of uprooting trees and knocking down power poles.

More: 2 deaths confirmed in Texas after Hurricane Beryl makes landfall. See total death toll

In a suburban part of Harris County, just northeast of Houston, a man was killed when a tree fell on his home and trapped him under debris, according to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. In northern Harris County, a tree fell onto a house and killed a 74-year-old woman, Gonzalez said on social media.

Last week, Beryl carved a path of destruction across the Caribbean — leaving at least 11 people dead and destroying or severely damaging infrastructure on several islands. Beryl, which at one point strengthened into the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, last made landfall on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula on Friday morning.

Hurricane Beryl's strength caught people off guard

Hal Needham, an extreme weather scientist widely known to other locals in Galveston as "Hurricane Hal," was up just after 4 a.m. Monday to monitor the storm and livestream updates.

"We've had some pretty big squalls today with widespread power outages," he said. "I think the storm was a lot stronger than a lot of people expected."

Needham said he was also concerned that continuing power outages would leave residents vulnerable to high-80s heat and high humidity.

"This is the hottest time of the year," he said. "If people still don't have power, there could really be some issues with heat exhaustion, with heat-related illnesses, especially for elderly people with health conditions."

More: See Texas power outage map as Hurricane Beryl makes landfall near Matagorda

Although people from the area are hurricane-savvy, this storm hit earlier than most, catching them off guard, Needham said.

"Only 3% of major hurricanes usually happen in June or July," he said. "Typically, Texas does not get a lot of July and June hurricane landfalls.

"I think people were really surprised by how hard and how quickly this hit," he added.

Beryl's path

Hurricane Beryl was 45 miles north-northwest of Houston, according to the National Hurricane Center's noon advisory, about eight hours after making landfall in Texas. The storm was hurtling north-northeast at 13 mph with sustained winds of 65 mph, about 15 mph less than when it made landfall.

Beryl is projected to downgrade into a tropical depression as it continues heading north across the Mississippi Valley and then the Ohio Valley, where it's expected to dissipate Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Galveston, a fish swimming on a flooded street

Jacob Jonathan, 21, awoke Monday to harsh winds banging on the window of his Galveston home, which he found "a little stressful.''

Jonathan said his street was flooded with nearly a foot of water. At one point, he looked out his window to see a fish jump out of it. Debris littered the neighborhood, and one fence was knocked down by the wind, he said.

By midday, Jonathan was still out of power, and he said some friends in Galveston were also without water.

"We're mainly worried about our food going bad in the fridge," he said.

More: Houston bayou level rises 25 feet as Beryl brings major flooding, dangerous road hazards

Jonathan spent the morning at home after the auto repair shop where he works delayed its opening until the afternoon because of the storm, and he was waiting to see when conditions improved.

"Our house is lifted, and we don't have any leaking," he added. "The only nuisance right now is we had to pick up after our animals because they can't really walk in the water."

Hurricane Beryl 'has been rough'

Donna Radin said she was startled awake by the “very strong howl” of wind rattling her home as rain came down in sheets early Monday morning.

The 58-year-old travel agent lives in Deer Park, a small city east of Houston. Around 5 a.m., as the conditions worsened, she heard a generator blow just down the block, and soon her home lost power.

Huddled inside with her daughter, two granddaughters and five dogs, Radin said she had avoided the windows but could see lots of downed trees and the remnants of a fence that was ripped out of the ground and hurled several yards away.

"It's the most intense Cat 1 I've ever been through," said Radin, who has lived on the Texas Gulf Coast all her life. "I told my husband, 'Our next investment will be remote-controlled hurricane shutters,' because this has been rough."

Hurricane Beryl hits records amid projected busy hurricane season

On July 1, Beryl made landfall in Grenada's Carriacou Island as a Category 4 hurricane and tore through the southern Caribbean Islands, flattening hundreds of buildings.

Later that night, Beryl became the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record. Driven by record-high ocean temperatures, Beryl's rapid strengthening stunned experts. It was also the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record and is the first June major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles on record.

More: Before Beryl, the last Cat 5 hurricane this early was in 2005, the same year as Katrina

Federal forecasters have predicted a hurricane season unlike any other, with as many as 25 named storms possible. It is the most storms the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has ever predicted in a preseason outlook.

Contributing: Jorge L. Ortiz and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY; Reuters.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Hurricane Beryl: At least 2 dead, millions without power in Texas