By EFE
06 Jul 2024, 12:29 PM EDT
New York – Tropical Storm Beryl will strengthen this weekend in the Gulf of Mexico and become a hurricane again before hitting parts of northeastern Mexico and the Texas coast from Sunday night to Monday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast on Saturday.
The US institution warned that these areas face an “increasing risk” of destructive hurricane-force winds and “potentially deadly” storm surges, and asked residents to stay informed of new recommendations and follow the instructions of local authorities.
“Flash flooding in urban areas of significant magnitude is possible across portions of the Gulf Coast and eastern Texas from Sunday night through midweek,” NHC also warned.
The Texas coast has been under hurricane alert since yesterday due to the advance of Beryl, which made landfall early Friday morning as a Category 2 hurricane north of Tulum, in the Mexican Caribbean, and was downgraded to a tropical storm.
Beryl was then located 0 kilometers (0 miles) east of Progreso, Mexico, and 935 kilometers (580 miles) east-southeast of Brownsville, Texas, NHC said.
The system had maximum sustained winds of 100 kilometers per hour (65 miles per hour) and was moving west-northwest.
Beryl made landfall early Friday morning near Tulum
The center of Beryl, which reached the highest category five hurricane in the Caribbean, made landfall early Friday morning near Tulum and the trajectory pattern shows that the Texas coast is exposed to its impact.
Beryl, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season and the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record, is moving at a speed of 24 kilometers per hour (15 miles per hour).
Three named tropical storms have formed so far during the Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1: Alberto, Beryl and Chris.
This year, the Atlantic will have a well-above-average hurricane season, with the possibility of up to 13 hurricanes, of which up to seven could be major, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
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Texas raises emergency level in preparation for the arrival of storm Beryl affecting Mexico