Beryl drops to depression after striking south Texas as Category 1 hurricane

July 8 (UPI) -- Beryl weakened into a depression on Monday night as moved through east Texas and Louisiana after making landfall as a Category 1 storm in the state in the morning.

Beryl had maximum sustained winds of 38 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 7 p.m. CDT Monday update . The storm was located 30 miles south-southeast of Tyler and about 225 miles west of Little Rock, Ark., the NHC said.

It was moving north-northeast at about 16 mph.

When a storm drops to less than 39, it is designated as a depression. Further weakening is forecast, and Beryl is expected to be a post-tropical cyclone Tuesday.

Beryl hit near Matagorda at 4:30 a.m. as a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. It is the first storm in the Atlantic hurricane season to make landfall in the United States.

All tropical storm and storm surge warnings have been discontinued.

"Beryl continues to produce flooding rains and the risk of tornadoes across eastern Texas, western Louisiana, Arkansas," NHC said.

A turn toward the northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected through Tuesday. On the forecast track, the center of Beryl will move through the Lower Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday

Beryl was the first storm to make U.S. landfall during the 2024 hurricane season, which began on June 1. It was also the earliest Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic on record.

An additional 4 to 8 inches of rain with localized amounts of 12 inches is expected across portions of eastern Texas through Monday night, acording to NHS. Considerable flash and urban flooding as well as minor to isolated major river flooding also is expected, forecasters said.

Since 1850, more than 50 hurricanes have made landfall in Texas .

The previous one was when Nicholas, a Category 1 hurricane, came ashore in Matagorda County in 2021.

Beryl made landfall about 5 north of Tulum in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula at 6:05 a.m. Friday as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. Around 1,170 temporary shelters were installed in the area, according to a news release Thursday from the state's government.

At least nine people have died from Beryl: two in Jamaica, three in Venezuela, three in Grenada and one person in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.