Storm Beryl heads towards Texas and could regain hurricane strength

(Reuters) – Tropical Storm Beryl was heading northwest over the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday and was expected to re-grade into a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall in Texas late in the evening.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center issued hurricane warnings for much of the Texas coast, and Corpus Christi closed its port ahead of high winds expected to hit the area. Parts of East Texas were under a flood warning ahead of the storm, which had maximum winds of 60 mph on Sunday morning.

Earlier this week, the storm, which at one point intensified into a Category 5 hurricane, left a deadly trail of destruction across the Caribbean. It swept Jamaica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as triggering heavy rains in northern Venezuela.

It has claimed at least 11 lives, destroying buildings while downing power lines and trees.

Beryl last made landfall on Friday, crossing Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and causing power outages in some areas. However, it largely spared major beach destinations and caused no casualties. Video showed Cancun’s international airport packed with tourists on Saturday as they rebooked their flights home after the storm.

With the storm approaching Texas, the National Weather Service warned of storm surges causing coastal flooding and rip currents.

OIL REFINERY

Most of the northern Gulf’s offshore oil and gas production is east of Beryl’s forecast.

Citgo Petroleum Corp said it plans to keep its Corpus Christi refinery running at minimal output as the storm moves up the coast.

Shell has shut down production on its Perdido platform in the Gulf and evacuated workers there. Shell said it also evacuated workers from the Whale platform, which is expected to begin production later this year.

Gibson Energy, which operates a large oil terminal in Corpus Christi, said operations continue but will take further action depending on the forecast.

(Writing by Chizu Nomiyama; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)