Cloudy, rainy day ahead for North Texas after Beryl makes landfall along coast
NORTH TEXAS – Rain is on the way for parts of Dallas-Fort Worth after Hurricane Beryl made landfall around 4 a.m. this morning near Matagorda as a Category 1 hurricane.
As of 7 a.m., Beryl remains at Category 1 strength. Winds have weakened slightly and pressure has increased slightly, as well. This is expected – as more interaction with land continues, and as the system slowly moves away from the warm Gulf waters, it'll start to lose steam.
By 10 a.m., Beryl was downgraded to a tropical storm. Still, 60 mph winds and rains are intense for southeast Texas and the coast and that isn't ending any time soon.
For North Texas, the major concern today will be the flooding threat to the south and east of Dallas-Fort Worth. A flood watch is in place for east and southeast counties through Tuesday morning. A widespread 2-4" of rainfall is expected along and to the east of I-45. The farther south and east though, rainfall accumulation totals as high as 8" will be possible.
There's already been rain in parts of North Texas before daybreak this morning, coming from some of the most outer bands of Beryl. This isn't even close to the worst of the rain expected today; the rain should really begin to pick up around midday and continue through the early evening.
By 11 a.m., start to see some heavier and more consistent rain in parts of Anderson County.
Moving into the afternoon hours, that heavy and consistent rain becomes more widespread to the east and southeast.
While the main concern will be flooding rains in North Texas today, keep in mind that winds could be gusting around 40 mph this afternoon and into the evening.
There's also the threat (low but not non-existent) for tropical spin-ups. As Beryl continues to push inland and the outer bands continue to move through North Texas, friction between the surface and these outer bands can cause rotation.
The CBS News Texas Weather Alert continues Monday for the threat of flooding rains. Beryl's track has continued to shift east over the last 24 hours though, and the timing has sped up. What this means is things clear out faster for North Texas than initially forecast. There will likely be lingering clouds to the east Tuesday morning, but by Tuesday afternoon sunshine should return and highs will jump back to near 90 degrees. It only gets warmer from there.