Tropical Storm Beryl bringing "life-threatening storm surge" and heavy rain to Texas
Beryl made landfall early Monday morning as a hurricane, slamming into the Gulf Coast of Texas between Galveston and Corpus Christi — just south of Houston — as a tumultuous Category 1 storm.
By mid-morning, power outages across Texas topped 1.5 million homes and businesses, according to the tracking site PowerOutage.us, and that number was climbing fast. Around 2,000 flights were canceled or delayed early Monday, as airlines began feeling the impacts of the hurricane that has now weakened to become a tropical storm.
A least one death has been reported in Texas amid the storm. The Harris County Sheriff's Office said Monday morning a man was dead after a tree fell on a home in Atascocita, which is in the Houston area.
Storm forecast and impacts
Berly lashed southeastern Texas with torrential downpours and powerful winds as it moved farther inland in the hours after landfall. But meteorologists said the potential storm surge — forecast to reach 7 feet in some areas — was among the greatest causes for concern.
The National Hurricane Center said Monday morning that "life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and flooding rainfall" was spreading over southeastern Texas as Beryl continued tracking northward.
Reporting from Galveston at 8 a.m., CBS News correspondent Omar Villafranca said peak wind gusts of 70 mph had spun up a "nonstop" mix of sand and rain in the coastal city. Villafranca said that had been the case for several hours.
The National Weather Service Houston office warned Monday morning: "An elevated weather station near the Houston Metro (located at an elevation of 226 ft — so fairly high up there) has gusted to 81 mph at 6:15am. Anyone in a high-rise in the Metro, please do not go out on balconies and stay away from windows."
CBS News senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson said the Houston metropolitan area has been getting drenched with in 2-3 inches of per per hour. He said the area can expect up to a foot of rain and possibly flash floods.
"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 today into tonight," the hurricane center said. "Considerable flash and urban flooding as well as minor to isolated major river flooding is expected."
Beryl caused flight disruptions Sunday night that had become worse by Monday. United Airlines had the greatest number of cancellations on Monday morning, with 406, according to FlightAware data. The airline told CBS News it was planning to largely suspend flying out of Houston on Monday. American Airlines said it was similarly planning to suspend operations at Houston airports until around 3 p.m. EDT Monday.
Beryl's core is expected to move over eastern Texas monday, then move through the Lower Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday," the hurricane center said. "Steady to rapid weakening is expected as the center moves inland, and Beryl is expected to weaken to a tropical storm later today and to a tropical depression on Tuesday."
Disaster declaration, closures and evacuations
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is serving as the state's acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is traveling overseas, issued a preemptive disaster declaration over the weekend for 121 counties.
Some areas were under mandatory evacuation orders. Refugio County, which is just north of Corpus Christi, ordered a mandatory evacuation on Saturday afternoon. Port Aransas, located on a barrier island in Nueces County just east of Corpus Christi, ordered a mandatory evacuation for all visitors beginning at noon Sunday. All Nueces County residents were also "strongly encouraged" to evacuate as well, county officials said.
Along with some mandatory evacuations, Texas coastal cities called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas prone to flooding, banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling on the July 4 holiday weekend to move recreational vehicles from coastal parks.
But as the storm neared the coast, Texas officials said they were worried that not enough residents and beach vacationers in Beryl's path had heeded warnings to leave.
"One of the things that kind of trigger our concern a little bit, we've looked at all of the roads leaving the coast and the maps are still green," Patrick said. "So we don't see many people leaving."
The Houston Independent School District announced it was closing all campuses and buildings on Monday and Tuesday due to the storm.
"All summer classes and activities are canceled, and all District activities and events – including professional development and recruiting sessions – are canceled," HISD said in a message to families and staff on Sunday evening.
Beryl's deadly, destructive path
Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean islands last week. Beryl then hit Tulum, Mexico, as a Category 2 hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the peninsula.
The head of Mexico's civil defense agency, Laura Velázquez, said Beryl hadn't caused any deaths or injuries there and that "damages were minor," though tens of thousands of people remained without power.
Tulum was plunged into darkness when the storm knocked out power as it came ashore. Screeching winds set off car alarms across the town. Wind and rain continued to whip the seaside city and surrounding areas Friday morning. Army brigades roved the streets of the tourist city, clearing fallen trees and power lines.
Although no dead or wounded have been reported, nearly half of Tulum continued to be without electricity, said Laura Velázquez, national coordinator of Mexican Civil Protection.
Before hitting Mexico and moving into the Gulf, Beryl had spread destruction in Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Barbados. Three people have been reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica, officials said.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness promised swift relief for residents affected by Hurricane Beryl after visiting one of the worst-affected areas of the island, the southern parish of St Elizabeth on Thursday afternoon.
"I know some of you are experiencing discomfort and displacement, and I want to assure you that the government will move as quickly as we can to get you the help you need," he said.
Earlier in the week, the hurricane damaged or destroyed 95% of homes on a pair of islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, jumbled fishing boats in Barbados and ripped off roofs and knocked out electricity in Jamaica.
On Union Island, part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a man who identified himself as Captain Baga described the storm's impact, including how he had filled two 2,000-gallon rubber water tanks in preparation.
"I strapped them down securely on six sides; and I watched the wind lift those tanks and take them away — filled with water," he said Thursday. "I'm a sailor and I never believed wind could do what I saw it do. If anyone (had) ever told me wind could do that, I would have told them they lie!"
The island was littered with debris from homes that looked like they had exploded.
Historic hurricane
Beryl was the earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, and was only the second Category 5 storm recorded in July since 2005, according to the hurricane center.
It took Beryl only 42 hours to strengthen from a tropical depression to a major hurricane, which is a Category 3 storm or higher — a feat accomplished only six other times in Atlantic hurricane history, and with Sept. 1 as the earliest date, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.
Beryl was also the third Category 3 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic in June, following Audrey in 1957 and Alma in 1966, hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry said.
"Beryl is an extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area," he told the AP in a phone interview. "Unusual is an understatement," he said, calling Beryl historic.
Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was the last strongest hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage in Grenada as a Category 3 storm.
Beryl is the second named storm in what is predicted to be a busy hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 in the Atlantic. Last month, Tropical Storm Alberto brought torrential flooding to portions of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. It was responsible for at least four deaths in the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon and Veracruz.
According to CBS News weather producer Parkinson, Beryl is the farthest east a hurricane has formed in June, and one of only two to do so east of the Caribbean, with the other instance occurring in 1933.
Warm waters fueled Beryl, with ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic the highest on record for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, University of Miami tropical meteorology researcher.
