Texas Lieutant Governor Dan Patrick warned residents that Tropical Storm Beryl — which is expected to make landfall along the state’s southeast coast on Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane — will be a “deadly storm” for those in its path.
The National Hurricane Center warned that the storm will continue picking up strength on its path toward Texas, potentially becoming a Category 2 hurricane, before it makes landfall on Sunday.
The storm is forecast to re-strengthen into a hurricane as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico and will have become a category 1 hurricane by the time it makes landfall in the US.
Governor Greg Abbott warned Texans to prepare for impact: “As Texans and visitors in south coastal areas celebrate Independence Day, I urge them to also make an emergency plan to stay safe.”
Beryl has so far killed at least eleven people in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Jamaica and Venezuela after it charted a deadly path through the Caribbean as a category five hurricane earlier in the week.
On Wednesday, the storm knocked out power to 400,000 homes and destroyed buildings in Jamaica.