Beryl advances over Texas, where it is expected to reach after regaining hurricane strength

HOUSTON– Beryl was running through the hot waters of the Gulf of Mexico on a collision course with Texas, forecast to gain strength and regain hurricane status before approaching the coast on Sunday and making landfall the next day with heavy rain, howling winds and dangerous storm surge.

A hurricane watch was declared for a wide swath of coastline from Baffin Bay, south of Corpus Christi, to Sargent, south of Houston, and storm surge warnings were also in effect. Other parts were under tropical storm warnings.

“We expect the storm to make landfall somewhere off the Texas coast on Monday if the current forecast is correct,” said Jack Beven, senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “If that happens, it will likely be a Category 1 hurricane.”

On Saturday night, Beryl was about 330 miles (535 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi and had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving northwest at 20 km/h.

The first storm to turn into Category 5 hurricane In the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths when it passed through the Caribbean at the beginning of the week. Then she knocked Mexico as a Category 2 hurricaneknocking down trees but causing no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatán Peninsula.

Texas authorities warned people along the entire coast to prepare for possible flooding, heavy rain and winds.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who serves as acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is traveling in Taiwan, issued a precautionary disaster declaration for 121 counties.

“Beryl is a determined storm, and the incoming winds and possible flooding will pose a serious threat to Texans who are in Beryl’s path as it makes landfall and as it crosses the state over the next 24 hours,” Patrick said Saturday in a communicated.

Some coastal cities have called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas that are prone to flooding, banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling over the Fourth of July holiday weekend to remove recreational vehicles from coastal parks.

Mitch Thames, a spokesman for Matagorda County, said authorities have issued a voluntary evacuation order for coastal areas of the county, about 100 miles southwest of Houston.

“Our No. 1 goal is the health and safety of all our visitors and, of course, our residents. I’m not too worried about our residents. The people who live there are used to it, they understand,” said Thames.

In Corpus Christi, officials asked visitors to shorten trips and return home early if possible. Residents were advised to protect homes by boarding up windows if necessary and using sandbags to protect against possible flooding.

Traffic has been nonstop for the past three days at an Ace Hardware in the city as customers shop for tarps, rope, duct tape, sandbags and generators, employee Elizabeth Landry said Saturday.

“They’re just worried about the wind and rain,” she said. “They’re wanting to prepare just in case.”

Ben Koutsoumbaris, general manager of Island Market on Padre Island in Corpus Christi, said “there has definitely been a lot of excitement about the coming storm,” with customers stocking up on food and drinks, especially meat and beer.

In Refugio County, north of Corpus Christi, authorities issued a mandatory evacuation order for its 6,700 residents.

Before reaching Mexico, Beryl forged destruction in Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados. Three people were killed in Grenada, three in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica.

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Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed.