State emergency resources preparing for Beryl as Austin, Central Texas land within cone of uncertainty

AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Emergency resources and first responders are getting ready as Hurricane Beryl lashes Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, before entering the Gulf of Mexico later Friday ahead of an expected landfall along the southern Texas coast on Monday.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) Chief Nim Kidd held a briefing Friday afternoon at the state's Operations Center, on preparations ahead of Beryl's arrival. Patrick is serving as the state's acting governor, with Gov. Greg Abbott out of the country on an economic development trip to Asia.

"This is a determined storm that is still strong,” Patrick said. "Pay attention to this storm. You have about two days to prepare... be in place by Monday, wherever you're going to be. Monday will not be a good driving day. A serious weather event is coming."

Beryl made landfall Friday morning just north of Tulum as a Category 2 storm, before weakening to a tropical storm Friday afternoon. The latest forecast track calls for the storm to strengthen again in the Gulf, becoming a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall - likely along Padre Island.

All of Central Texas is now in Beryl's so-called "cone of uncertainty" according to the National Hurricane Center forecast, with the projected path of the storm's center set to be just east of the I-35 corridor as we move into Wednesday morning.

Earlier this week, Beryl became the first Category 5 storm of the season, and also became the earliest storm in the season to reach Category 4 status in the Atlantic.

A disaster declaration has been issued for 39 Texas counties, with more to be added if needed.