Hurricane Beryl struck the Texas coast Monday morning, bringing hurricane-force winds, widespread power outages, and flash flooding.
The storm made landfall near Matagorda at 3:50 a.m. CT as a Category 1 hurricane with gusts over 80 mph. More than 2.5 million customers in Texas have lost power, according to PowerOutage.us.
The storm hit Surfside Beach first, with FOX Weather crews capturing footage of strong winds breaking parts of palm trees.
The winds have caused a life-threatening storm surge, flooding coastal communities. Conditions are expected to worsen by 8 a.m. as high tide approaches. Houston will face dangerous weather through the morning as the storm moves inland.
The National Hurricane Center warns that storm surge could reach up to 7 feet at peak tide, with areas like Galveston Bay possibly seeing levels near 6 feet.
As the storm surge began in Surfside Beach, FOX Weather crews had to move to higher ground for safety.
The Texas coastline experiences longer high tides, which, combined with prolonged onshore winds, could keep water levels high for days, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
Wind gusts exceeding 80 mph will continue through midday.
“The backs of my legs feel like they’re on fire from the stinging rain,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin reported from Surfside Beach early Monday morning.
Houston will also experience damaging winds, with the storm’s core already causing gusts over 60 mph in the metro area.
Beryl formed on June 29 and became the first hurricane of the season. It rapidly intensified across the Atlantic and into the Caribbean, breaking multiple records. The storm has killed at least 10 people during its journey across the Caribbean.
