North Texas now within the probable path of Beryl
Beryl is inching closer to the Texas coast, and the latest forecast shows that the storm could hit the southern part of the state before moving north — affecting Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth area at some point next week.
The National Hurricane Center predicts that Beryl will intensify and make landfall along the mid-Texas coast as a hurricane late Sunday and Monday.
Texans are urged to make final preparations as Hurricane Beryl approaches the Gulf Coast. Heavy rain, localized flooding, and potential tornadoes are expected across Texas. The Texas Division of Emergency Management is actively coordinating preparations and response efforts.
The tropical storm, expected to regain strength in the Gulf of Mexico, made landfall again Friday morning over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula after blowing past the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, devastating a number of islands.
Beryl tore through the Caribbean earlier this week as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, killing at least six people. It continues to make its way west-northwest but at a decreasing speed, according to the National Hurricane Center.
As Beryl gets closer to the Texas coast, the NHC said there is an increasing risk of strong winds, storm surge and heavy rainfall in portions of southern Texas later this weekend and into next week.
Disaster declarations announced for 121 counties
On Saturday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick added 81 counties to the state's Hurricane Beryl Disaster Declaration.
Patrick, who made the announcement as acting governor, boosted the number of counties included in the declaration to 121.
The 81 Texas counties added by Patrick include Anderson, Angelina, Austin, Bastrop, Bell, Bowie, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Caldwell, Camp, Cass, Chambers, Cherokee, Collin, Colorado, Comal, Dallas, Delta, Ellis, Falls, Fannin, Fayette, Fort Bend, Franklin, Freestone, Galveston, Grayson, Gregg, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Harrison, Hays, Henderson, Hill, Hopkins, Houston, Hunt, Jasper, Jefferson, Kaufman, Lamar, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Madison, Marion, McLennan, Milam, Montgomery, Morris, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Newton, Orange, Panola, Polk, Rains, Red River, Robertson, Rockwall, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Titus, Travis, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Walker, Waller, Washington, Williamson, and Wood counties.
On Friday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a severe weather disaster declaration for the original 40 counties.
Those counties includes Aransas, Atascosa, Bee, Bexar, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, DeWitt, Dimmit, Duval, Frio, Goliad, Gonzales, Hidalgo, Jackson, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kenedy, Kinney, Kleberg, LaSalle, Lavaca, Live Oak, Matagorda, Maverick, McMullen, Medina, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Uvalde, Victoria, Webb, Wharton, Willacy, Wilson, Zapata, and Zavala.
Additional counties may be added as conditions warrant, the governor and lieutenant governor said.
Beryl could make landfall in Texas as a Category 1 hurricane
On Friday afternoon, NHC issued a hurricane watch for the Texas coast, from the mouth of the Rio Grande river northward to Sargent. A storm surge watch has also been issued for the same area.
A hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area. A watch is typically issued 48 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous.
A storm surge watch means there is a possibility of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline, in the indicated locations during the next 48 hours.
On the current track, Beryl could make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday near Corpus Christi, before moving inland.
Beryl could reach the Houston area late Monday or early Tuesday as a tropical storm, and will continue to weaken before possibly affecting Dallas-Fort Worth, according to NHC.
The North Texas region is now in the five-day outlook cone with Beryl downgrading to a tropical depression next week. For North Texas residents, this means there will likely be tropical rains next Tuesday night into Wednesday. Severe weather is likely to affect the area due to the storm.
Beryl was the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, and was only the second Category 5 storm recorded in July since 2005, according to the NHC.
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