MATAGORDA COUNTY, Texas – Earlier on Sunday, Beryl was a tropical storm but was expected to strengthen into a hurricane before it made landfall along the Texas Gulf Coast between Sunday night and early Monday morning.
As of 11 p.m. Sunday, the National Hurricane Center announced that Beryl had, indeed, been upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour.
July 7th 1100PM CDT Update: National Weather Service Doppler radar near Houston, Texas and @53rdWRS aircraft data indicate #Beryl has strengthened and is again a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. For the latest visit https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ pic.twitter.com/746NvARkuk
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 8, 2024
When the storm arrives, Matagorda County is becoming a likely candidate for Beryl’s arrival.
KSAT Meteorologist Justin Horne met a Port Alto family installing a new shed Sunday afternoon to protect their 60-year-old home before Beryl comes ashore.
Port Alto is a community located on the West Side of Matagorda Bay.
“We’re just tying the shed down so it doesn’t blow off. Hopefully,” the family told KSAT. “But if it does, it does, you know?”
Horne and KSAT photojournalist Matthew Craig also drove through one of several rain bands caused by Beryl Sunday afternoon in Blessing, Texas, which is just north of Matagorda Bay.
Heavy, tropical rain near Blessing, Texas, as Beryl’s initial bands begin to move onshore. pic.twitter.com/OAa9ObohVC
— Justin Horne (@Justin_Horne) July 7, 2024
Matagorda County public information officer Mitch Thames said people in low-lying communities along the coast should be prepared for storm surge.
Thames said he was expecting high water to force roads and state highways in the county to shut down. County and city crews are preparing by making sure drainage ditches have been cleared out.
For county residents who are choosing to remain in the county through the storm, Thames is urging them to hunker down and stay in their homes until the storm passes.
“Unless it’s a life-threatening situation, there’s nothing worth you getting out and getting yourself into trouble and then putting our first responders in harm’s way trying to assist you,” Thames told KSAT.
As of 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Matagorda County residents are under a voluntary evacuation order and are also encouraging visitors to evacuate as well.
Two Matagorda County cities, Bay City and Palacios, have also issued curfews that will go into effect Sunday night.
Mayor Robert K. Nelson issued the curfew for Bay City, which will go into effect at 11 p.m. Sunday. City officials said those exempt from the curfew are police officers, firefighters, doctors, nurses, and other people considered essential to preserving public order and necessary to serve the safety, health, and welfare needs of Bay City residents.
The end of the curfew is not yet known. According to the city, Nelson will ultimately decide when to lift it.
Palacios city officials, who issued a voluntary evacuation order for its residents, have also instituted a curfew that will begin at 9 p.m. Sunday and last through sunrise on Monday.
KSAT is your Weather Authority. Our team of meteorologists is tracking the latest with Tropical Storm Beryl. Meteorologist Justin Horne will have reports on the ground along the Texas Gulf Coast this weekend and Mond.
For the latest on Beryl’s forecast, click here.