|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Residents can expect street flooding, hurricane-force wind gusts and widespread power outages as Beryl sweeps through the city Monday in what local meteorologists predict will be a quick-moving storm that could clear the Houston area in about 12 hours.
Classified as a tropical storm as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico Sunday, Beryl is expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane by the time it reaches the middle Texas coast early Monday. The storm, forecast to come ashore around Matagorda, is projected to bring 5 to 10 inches of rain throughout Harris County, with scattered locations potentially receiving more. The National Hurricane Center predicts “life-threatening” storm surges along the Texas Coast, including Matagorda Bay and Galveston Bay, and localized flash and urban flooding in the Houston area.
Matt Lanza, meteorologist and editor for Space City Weather, said the storm will move quickly through Houston on Monday.
“There will be some on and off (storm) stuff before that, but conditions will really start to deteriorate after midnight Sunday,” Lanza said. “The storm has picked up a little bit of speed relative to the last couple of days. The worst of it will probably move south to north from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday and should be out of the area by midday.”
Since the storm is moving through quickly, the Houston area is not expected to get as much flooding as a longer lasting storm, according to Lanza. Still, Houstonians should be prepared for 5 to 10 inches of rain and localized street flooding, and wind gusts for three to four hours.
Beryl’s outer storm bands began hitting Houston Sunday morning with short, intense bursts of rain and thunder.
The storm is not expected to put much water into homes and businesses nor have an extraordinary impact on the county’s bayous, Lanza said. However, he said, street flooding will be intense and area residents should take caution driving. Lanza suggested people move their vehicles to higher ground if possible.
“For the most part, we think the creeks and bayous should be able to handle this amount of rain,” said Jeff Lindner, meteorologist with the Harris County Flood Control District. “If we start getting into the 8-inch level, that is a little bit more worrying. We aren’t anticipating any significant widespread flooding since the storm is moving pretty quickly and accelerating as it moves through.”
The biggest concern for Lindner will be wind gusts, which he said could reach 60 to 70 mph across the entire Houston area. He said residents should expect widespread power outages that will last days, not just a few hours.
“This is not one little location like we had back in May,” Lindner said. “There are multiple counties that are going through this with even worse conditions down in Fort Bend, Brazoria, Matagorda counties, where they could see 90 to 100 mph winds.”
Lindner said people should hunker down after 10 p.m. Sunday and stay put if they can until early Monday afternoon. He said residents can monitor the Flood Control District’s flood warning system to get a better idea of rainfall levels.
“Do not park your car on the street tonight,” Lindner said. “Find somewhere else for it.”
Prepping for the storm
Earlier Sunday, the parking lot outside of the Meyerland HEB was abuzz. Shoppers hurried in and out of the grocery store, some to do their weekly shopping, others to prepare for Beryl.
Tina Jordano had come to HEB to purchase a few last-minute items with her son, Parker.
The pair recalled how Harvey impacted them — spending days without power and wading through water up to their knees. While Jordano does not anticipate Beryl causing the same level of damage, she said she was worried about power outages and potential damage to her rental home’s roof.
Christina Steward described the “insane” scene inside the store, saying every checkout line was full, some extending into the aisles.
Steward said she was not worried about Beryl. Aside from purchasing some extra bottles of water to keep on hand, she said she did little to prepare for the storm.
“If it hits us, it hits us,” the lifelong Houstonian said. “This is nothing new to me.”
Official warnings
Houston Mayor John Whitmire was a little more emphatic at an afternoon news conference, saying things were about to become very tense tonight.
“The world conditions that you go to sleep under will not be the same as when you wake up in the morning,” Whitmire said.
Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said that 10 p.m. Sunday should be a no-go anywhere on the streets of Harris County.
METRO services will be suspended after 10:00 p.m. Sunday and resume at 8 a.m. Monday.
Noting there will be no trash or recycling pickup on Monday, Whitmire asked residents to take garbage containers and outdoor furniture inside so they do not become “flying objects” during the storm.
Houston Public Works Chief Operating Officer Randy Macchi said emergency repairs on the Lake Livingston Dam — which was damaged during May’s derecho — will continue through Sunday and Monday. The Trinity River Authority confirmed a “potential failure watch” at the dam last week, though it said there was no immediate threat of a break. A dam failure could impact water pressure throughout Houston and flood areas near Lake Livingston, about 70 miles north of downtown.
Macchi said he is confident that “whatever is coming their way, they’ll be able to withstand.”
Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña reminded residents to reserve calling 911 for “true emergencies” and to use 311 to report non-emergency matters.
At her own news conference Sunday night, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo warned residents that the next 24 hours will be tough. She encouraged Houstonians to find shelter by 10 p.m. Sunday and remain there until noon Monday. All county buildings will be closed tomorrow and employees will work from home.
“Storm surge will not stop until the wind moves on,” Hidalgo said. “It’s going to be wet, it’s going to be windy, it’s going to be dangerous.”
State disaster declaration
At a press conference Sunday afternoon, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, acting as governor with Gov. Greg Abbott on a pre-planned economic visit to east Asia, urged residents and visitors in the coastal areas near Corpus Christi and Galveston Island to consider evacuating before Beryl makes landfall.
Patrick has issued a disaster declaration covering 121 counties.
Along with Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, Patrick voiced concern about the holiday weekend and people being out of their regular routines. He called out individuals who were still out on the water, urging them to be careful with the possibility of rip currents.
Evacuation routes out of coastal areas remained mostly empty Sunday afternoon, raising concerns that residents feel they are safe on the storm’s current path. Patrick said landfall projections can be off by up to 50 or 60 miles.
“We don’t see many people leaving,” the lieutenant governor said. “You don’t want to be on the road tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a bad day for weather.”
The storm, according to current projections, will move up the state quickly through Tuesday, and there are expectations for tropical storm rains for a few days after Beryl passes through.
Kidd also reminded residents that some of the more deadly consequences of such storms were inland flooding and power outages, which can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning from the improper use of generators.
“Property can be rebuilt, but lives can not be,” Patrick said, pointing out nine people who already lost their lives to the storm in the Caribbean. “We don’t want number 10 to be in Texas.”
CenterPoint Energy announced it has activated its emergency response plan, reporting crews were ready to support the company’s electric and natural gas restoration efforts.
The company’s restoration workforce is about 4,500 workers with another 4,500 in mutual assistance resources.
CenterPoint’s outage tracker remains offline. The map has been taken down due to technical difficulties following the May derecho that saw some 900,000 customers lose power for days. The utility will provide general outage information every 15 minutes through its Storm Center.
In Fort Bend County, officials asked residents to shelter in place during the storm and to clear the roads for emergency personnel during what they are calling a “wind and water” event. The county is expected to see between 5 and10 inches of rain, with wind gusts up to 73 mph in the next 24 hours.
The county is expecting mass power outages and damage, but the county’s three main reservoirs are expected to be able to hold the rapid influx of water, according to officials.
Reporters Tim Carlin, Akhil Ganesh, Miranda Dunlap and Briah Lumpkins contributed to this story.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print.
