Hurricane Beryl Makes Landfall Along Texas Coast, Killing 3 People in Houston, Causing Over 1,000 Flight Cancellations, 1.5 Million Power Outages

Hurricane Beryl made landfall along the Texas coast in the early morning (local time) of Monday, July 8, killing at least three people in Houston, Texas. The National Weather Service (NWS) reported that Beryl brought life-threatening weather hazards such as hurricane-force winds and dangerous marine conditions, including storm surges and rip currents. The Texas landfall came several days after Beryl wreaked havoc across Mexico and the Caribbean region.

Beryl's arrival caused the delay and cancellation of multiple flights across the region, as well as widespread power outages, based on latest updates surrounding the first storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. Weather forecasts show that the category 1 storm will bring multiple hazards across Texas on Monday. In the next few days, the hurricane will continue to move in a northeast pattern over the mainland United States.

Hurricane Beryl Texas Landfall

On Monday, the NWS' Weather Prediction Center (WPC) reported that Hurricane Beryl made the Texas landfall and is expected to bring life-threatening risks, especially along the north-central Gulf Coast area. Coastal flooding and damaging winds will be the primary threats posed by the Atlantic hurricane, in addition to heavy rain and a few tornadoes that the region is facing, according to the weather service.

In its office in Houston, Texas, the NWS said that 3 to 6 inches of rainfall has been reported in the city, causing some areas to be submerged in flash flooding. Due to this hazard, the local weather authority advised drivers to avoid flooded roads or streets. In addition, Beryl also caused more than 1,000 flight cancellations in airports across Houston as of early Monday, according to the flight-monitoring website FlightAware.

In Freeport, Texas, the Houston weather office also warned of damaging wind gusts of 94 miles per hour in the city, posing a risk to high-rise apartment buildings. Furthermore, water rescues and power outages affecting at least 1.5 million people were also reported as the hurricane battered through Texas. On the other hand, the US weather agency also issued a tornado warning for multiple counties across the Ark-La-Tex region.

Hurricane Beryl Weather Hazards

In addition to the mentioned weather hazards earlier, Hurricane Beryl is expected to bring life-threatening coastal erosion along the Texas coast, ranging from Mesquite Bay to Sabin Pass, including Galveston Bay and Matagorda Bay. This is according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) which stated that a "hurricane warning" is in effect in areas from Mesquite Bay to Port Bolivar as of Monday.

One of the three fatalities confirmed in Houston died after a tree fell on the roof of his home. Last week, Beryl killed a total of at least 11 people when it wreaked havoc across the Caribbean region, including Jamaica and the Cayman Islands before heading towards the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Later this week, the NHC is projecting that Beryl will head towards the Northeast US.