State leaders warn Texans to prepare for Hurricane Beryl landfall: 'We're preparing for the worst'
DALLAS - State officials are urging Texans, especially Gulf Coast residents, to prepare for an uninvited guest this weekend: Hurricane Beryl.
Beryl first battered the Caribbean, weakened to a tropical storm after slamming Mexico and is likely to strengthen as it reenters the Gulf and takes its path towards the Lone Star State.
State leaders say Texans have until Monday to brace themselves for Beryl to make landfall in Texas.
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The storm, which hasn't necessarily behaved as experts thought, will trigger flooding deep in the heart of Texas.
Officials are ringing the warning bell to get your attention now about the potentially dangerous weather.
"That could be 12-15 inches in some areas. We don't know exactly sure yet where," warned Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. "That may be whether it’s heavy rain and flooding or if it’s a hurricane Category 1, 2 or worse. It would be here likely on Monday, and we'd start feeling the impacts of that on Sunday."
Wild weather is in the works as many are vacationing over the long Fourth of July holiday weekend.
"A lot of people are out having fun right now, and that's a good thing. And we want them to continue to do that," said Chief Nim Kidd with the Texas Division of Emergency Management. "But we also want them to prepare. We need a prepared community not a panicked community."
To that end, state leaders are readying resources and marshaling manpower.
From the Valley to Galveston, communities are starting steps to buttress Beryl and what could come: a strong coastal storm surge.
"Once it moves into the water, the storm will tell us more of where it's heading, and we'll know to be able to pinpoint it much more than we can today," Patrick said. "But right now, if you're along the coast from Brownsville to the Louisiana border, pay attention."
"We really won't know for several more hours of exactly where landfall will be, but we have high confidence that this system is coming somewhere to Texas," Kidd said.
Coastal communities aren’t the only ones who should be taking precautions. Inland flooding is also likely.
Beryl is slow-moving and could drop drenching downpours.
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The National Hurricane Center is keeping an eye on a few tropical waves in the Atlantic as of Wednesday.
"This is a slow-moving storm, and hurricanes and tropical storms drop a lot of rain in a short amount of time," Kidd said. "And the longer that storm is over an area, the more rain it drops."
Once Beryl enters the Gulf of Mexico, it will be fueled by heat, warm waters and driven by the winds around it.
"We're preparing for the worst praying and hoping for the least amount of rain and a lesser storm," Patrick said. "But you want to be in a position of wherever you're going to be by Monday."
Live Hurricane Beryl Track
Records Broken By Hurricane Beryl
Hurricane Beryl has already broken several records.
The storm formed in June and it has already become the strongest June and July hurricane on record.
It is also the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record.
Beryl made history as the first June major hurricane to occur east of the Caribbean and is the strongest hurricane to ever hit the Windward Islands.
More records could be broken in the coming days.