Beryl expected to be a hurricane once it makes landfall on Monday morning

As Tropical Storm Beryl churns in the Gulf of Mexico, the Houston Landing will be providing updates throughout the weekend and into next week. Follow this page for the latest information on Tropical Storm Beryl.

Here is a checklist of the 10 things you need to know to be ready for the arrival of Beryl.

Also, this is a good resource to check localized flooding. The Harris County Flood Warning System provides water levels for local waterways.

10:25 p.m.: Beryl is expected to bring severe weather. These are the chances of damaging winds in your area

Within the next 24 hours, Tropical Storm Beryl is forecasted to move through the Houston area, bringing damaging winds that could reach speeds higher than 74 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center .

To help better prepare for the severe weather ahead, Houston Landing has compiled a searchable database showing the timeline of damaging wind speeds over the next two days for your area. Click here to check the winds in your area.

10:00 p.m.: The latest advisory says Beryl will be a hurricane at landfall

• The latest National Hurricane Center advisory keeps Beryl as a tropical storm but states that the storm will be a hurricane once it reaches land.
• Current sustained winds are still at 70 mph, but the expectation is that the winds will surpass 75 mph making it a Category 1 storm.
• The eye of the storm is located about 75 miles south southeast of Matagorda Bay, moving 10 mph in a north northwest direction.

9:25 p.m.: Centerpoint Energy official addresses concerns over power outages

Paul Lock, CenterPoint’s Manager of Local Government Relations, explained that after the worst of Beryl passes through tomorrow morning, CenterPoint crews will begin their damage assessment.

Priority buildings like government offices, schools and police and fire stations will be attended to first, followed by fixing outages that affect the most customers.

CenterPoint currently has 2500 mutual assistance groups on standby to restore outages, Lock said.

Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen cautioned residents about the dangers of misusing power generators, including carbon monoxide poisoning and electric shock.

“Our greatest concern is that you remain safe after the storm,” Christensen said.

She encourages residents to maintain a sense of community and check on their neighbors, family members and friends in the coming days.

Hidalgo reiterated that this storm system is moving quickly. There are no indicators that Beryl will act similarly to Hurricane Harvey, which stalled over the region and poured down nearly 60 inches of rain in some places.

– by Tim Carlin

8:10 p.m.: Judge Hidalgo urges preparation in final hours before landfall

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo warned of difficult hours ahead for residents but insisted the county in prepared leading up to landfall of Beryl.

“The next 24 hours are going to be tough for Harris County,” Hidalgo said.

The judge urged residents across the county, no matter of location, to prepare for the next 24 hours.

“We are on the dirty side of the hurricane,” the judge said, adding that between midnight tonight and noon tomorrow is the truly dangerous period for Harris County

“Storm surge will not stop until the wind moves on,” Hidalgo said. “Its going to be wet, its going to be windy, its going to be dangerous,” she added.

The judge encouraged residents to hunker down in place by 10 p.m. tonight and stay in that location until noon tomorrow.

The Judge cautioned that winds and power outages are not expected to be as severe as the Derecho earlier this year.

Despite this, she encouraged residents to “be prepared for the worst and the various contingencies.”

Hidalgo reiterated that the county is activated at its highest readiness level, underscoring her ask to have residents shelter in place after 10 p.m. tonight.

All county buildings will be closed tomorrow, and employees will work from home, Hidalgo said.

CenterPoint’s power outage tracker will not come back online for this storm, Hidalgo said.

CenterPoint, however, has a power alert service that residents can sign up for to receive direct message about outages and repairs in their area.

– by Tim Carlin

7:00 p.m.: Beryl stays as tropical storm but is intensifying after latest advisory

• Beryl wind gusts have reached 70 mph, just below the threshold for a Category 1 hurricane. The thought still holds that it will come onshore as a hurricane.
• The current location of Beryl is 105 miles south southeast of Matagorda Bay, moving at 12 mph in a north northwest path.
• Landfall is still expected to be in the early hours of Monday morning along the middle Texas coast.

6:30 p.m.: Watch the latest update from National Hurricane Center Director Dr. Michael Brennan on Beryl

5:10 p.m.: Mayor Whitmire: ‘“Around midnight, things will become very tense’

As Tropical Storm Beryl is set to roll through Houston overnight, city and county leaders urged residents to stay home and off the roads after 10 p.m. Sunday.

Local leaders are bracing for up to 12 inches of rain, winds up to 70 mph and likely street flooding across the county.

“Around midnight (Monday), things will become very tense,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire said. “The world conditions that you go to sleep under will not be the same as when you wake up in the morning.”

METRO services will be suspended after 10:30 p.m. Sunday and resume at 8 a.m. Monday. There will be no trash pickup Monday, so Whitmire asked residents to take garbage containers and outdoor furniture inside before they become “flying objects” during the storm.

Houston Public Works Chief Operating Officer Randy Macchi said emergency repairs on the Lake Livingston Dam — which was damaged during May’s derecho —will continue through Sunday and Monday. The Trinity River Authority confirmed a “potential failure watch” at the dam last week, though it said there was no immediate threat of a break. A dam failure could impact water pressure throughout Houston and flood areas near Lake Livingston, about 70 miles north of downtown.

Macchi said he’s confident that “whatever is coming their way, they’ll be able to withstand.”

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña asked residents to reserve calling 911 for “true emergencies” and use 311 to report non-emergency matters.

— by Miranda Dunlap

4:30 p.m.: Fort Bend officials ask residents to shelter in place during storm

Fort Bend County officials gathered at the Fort Bend County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to give residents an update on their preparation as tropical storm Beryl nears the Texas coast.

“The safety of our residents and the safety of our staff is our number one priority.” Fort Bend County Judge KP George said.

Officials are asking residents to shelter in place during the storm and to clear the roadways for emergency personnel during what they are calling a “wind and water” event. The county is expected to see between 5-10 inches of rain and winds between 39 -73 miles per hour in the next 24 hours.

The county’s main three reservoirs are expected to be able to hold the rapid influx of water, Jeff Janecek the first assistant to the county’s chief engineer said.

Fort Bend is preparing for the event of mass power outages and damage. If needed, the county will put out information through social media for cooling centers and shelters throughout the county, Director of Emergency Management Greg Babst said.

County offices will be closed for business tomorrow and will reopen for normal hours on Tuesday, July 9.

— by Briah Lumpkin s

4:00 p.m.: No strengthening for Beryl yet; path continues to put it near Corpus Christi

• Maximum sustained winds remain at 65 mph, so the strengthening into a Category 1 storm has yet to materialize. Still, the National Hurricane Center expects Beryl to be a hurricane by landfall.
• Currently, Beryl sits 135 miles east southeast of Corpus Christi and is moving at 12 mph in a north by northwestern direction.
• Landfall is expected to be near Corpus Christi in the early hours on Monday morning.

2:00 p.m.: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick urges coastal residents to consider evacuations

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, acting as governor with Governor Greg Abbott on a preplanned economic visit to east Asia, urged residents and visitors in the coastal areas near Corpus Christi and Galveston Island to consider evacuating before Tropical Storm Beryl makes landfall during his Sunday afternoon press conference.

Along with Texas Division of Emergency Management Nim Kidd, Patrick voiced concern about the holiday weekend and people being out of their regular routines. He called out individuals who were still out on the water, urging them to be careful with the possibility of rip currents.

Currently, evacuation routes out of coastal areas have remained mostly empty, raising concerns that residents feel they are safe on the current path of Beryl. On the contrary, landfall projections can be off by up to 50 to 60 miles, per the Patrick.

“We don’t see many people leaving,” Patrick said. “You don’t want to be on the road tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a bad day for weather.”

The storm, according to current projections, will move up the state quickly through Tuesday, and there are expectations for tropical storm rains for a few days after Beryl passes through.

Kidd also reminded residents that some of the more deadly part of these storms were the inland floods and power outages leading to carbon monoxide poisoning.

“Property can be rebuilt but lives can not be,” Patrick said, pointing out nine people who have already lost their lives to the storm in the Caribbean. “We don’t want number 10 to be in Texas.”

— by Akhil Ganesh

1:30 p.m.: Latest update from the National Weather Service in Houston:

1:00 p.m.: No major updates to Beryl after 1 p.m. advisory from National Hurricane Center :

• Maximum sustained winds are still at 65 mph, so just below hurricane force winds. The expectation remains the Beryl will intensify into a Category 1 storm this evening.
• The center of Beryl is about 165 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, tracking north northwest at 10 mph.
• Landfall is still expected early Monday morning between Corpus Christi and Galveston Bay.
• According to the NHC, ‘preparations should be rushed to completion’.

7:00 a.m.: Here is latest information after an early morning update from the National Hurricane Center:

• Beryl is still a tropical storm, but the expectation is that it will strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane at some point on Sunday.
• The storm is located 355 miles southeast of Corpus Christi and movement is at 12 mph in a northwest path.
• A hurricane warning is in effect from Baffin Bay northward to San Luis Pass.
• A hurricane watch is in effect from San Luis Pass to Galveston Island.
• Landfall is expected on Monday morning along the Texas coast.

10 p.m.: The potential impact from Beryl to southeast Texas coast

4:30 p.m. : Watch the latest update from National Hurricane Center Director Dr. Michael Brennan on Beryl.

4:10 p.m. Here is some updated information after the 4 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

• Hurricane Warning has been issued from Baffin Bay north to Sargent.
• Tropical Storm Warning has been issued from Sargent to High Island.
• The storm is about 380 miles southeast of Corpus Christi and winds have maintained at 60 mph. The expectation is that Beryl will intensify into a hurricane on Sunday.
• Houston is not expected to get the brunt of the wind gusts, but it still should be a significant rain event. Current models show rainfall totals between 8-10 inches with localized street flooding for our region.
• There is still time to prepare. Here is a checklist of the 10 things you need to know to be ready for hurricane season.
• High tide is expected in Galveston Bay at noon on Monday and 2-4 feet of storm surge is projected.

4:00 p.m.: Watch live update from the National Hurricane Center

The National Hurricane Center National Director Dr. Michael Brennan will provide a live update at around 4:00 p.m. Central on the latest on Beryl. Click the link below to watch.

3:35 p.m.: Some street flooding already seen in Midtown

1:30 p.m.: What is the GRAF model showing? Here is a simulated satellite imagery of what the GRAF model shows. Still consistent with landfall near Corpus Christ

1:20 p.m.: Are there similarities between Tropical Storm Beryl and Hurricane Harvey? While looking at satellite images from 48 hours before landfall show Beryl and Harvey with similar levels of disorganization, meteorologist Eric Webb gives a good breakdown of the important differences between the two.

1:00 p.m.: Here is the latest information sent out by the National Hurricane Center. Everything appears to be in a holding pattern for now, with the expected strengthening happening Sunday.

11:00 a.m.: Here are some things you need to know as of Saturday afternoon:

• As of noon on Saturday, Beryl is a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph. The expectation is that Beryl will intensify into a hurricane on Sunday.
• The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane watch from the Rio Grande River north to the San Luis Pass. A hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are likely within the next 48 hours.
• While the storm can still wobble in the next day or two, according to multiple models, landfall is expected late Sunday night, early Monday morning between Corpus Christi and Matagorda Bay.