Tropical Storm Beryl Strengthens
Tropical Storm Beryl will get stronger as it moves toward the South Texas coast this weekend. It can bring dangerous winds, life-threatening storm surge and serious flooding to Texas on starting late Sunday. It will be the first storm of the 2024 Atlantic season to hit the US. The latest update as ”Beryl is getting stronger”Right now, Beryl is a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico, about 460 miles from Corpus Christi, Texas, as of Saturday morning.
The storm has already brought heavy rain,strong winds and dangerous storm surges to much of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and several Caribbean islands. Beryl is expected to become a hurricane again on Sunday before making landfall in South Texas US.
Hurricane and storm surge watches have been extended along the Texas coast as Hurricane Beryl approaches and impacts.
The hurricane move from the mouth of the Rio Grande to San Luis Pass areas. A storm surge watch is effecting for the Texas coast from the Rio Grande to High Island, including coastal Harris County areas.
There is also a tropical storm warning for Texas coast south of Baffin Bay to the mouth of the Rio Grande River and the northeastern coast of mainland Mexico from Barra el Mezquital to the mouth of the Rio Grande.
Beryl is expected to hit South Texas near Corpus Christi as a Category one hurricane by midday Monday according to the National Hurricane Center US.
US Meteologist mentioned that the state will likely start feeling the impacts of Beryl from Sunday into Monday. They emphasized the need to prepare for the worst-case scenario, even if it turns out to be just a heavy rain event.
Tropical storm conditions will begin to affect the western Gulf Coast on Sunday, with hurricane conditions expected later in the day. The southern parts of the Texas coast could see a storm surge up to 5 feet. Heavy rainfall of 5 to 10 inches, with some areas receiving up to 15 inches, is expected across the Texas Gulf Coast and eastern Texas from late Sunday through the middle of next week. This could lead to flash and urban flooding. Dangerous rip currents will make beach conditions life-threatening throughout the weekend across much of the Gulf Coast.
Earlier this week, Beryl became the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic. The storm has already killed at least nine people in the Caribbean, including two in Jamaica, three in Venezuela, three in Grenada, and one in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Climate change has worsened Beryl’s impact. The unusually warm ocean waters that intensified Beryl indicate that this hurricane season will be far from normal. A study by ClimaMeter found that modern storms like Beryl, influenced by human-caused climate change, bring 30% more rain and 10% stronger winds compared to similar storms from 1979 to 2001.
In Jamaica, residents are dealing with the aftermath of Beryl, which brought destructive winds and storm surges, killing two people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power. Beryl was the strongest storm to hit Jamaica in over 15 years. The storm also caused significant damage in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, and Grenada. Several charities are actively providing aid in the region, and contributions to relief efforts are encouraged.
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