By: Serena Li
As of July 8, 2024, around two million people in Texas have no power. Hurricane Beryl, coming from the warm Atlantic ocean temperatures, is spinning with 90 miles per hour (mph) gusts, leaving at least one person dead in Texas.
Hurricanes, or tropical cyclones, form near the equator from warm ocean waters. For these violent storms to emerge, they need warm ocean water temperature to be at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit, so they only occur in tropical regions. They also require wind. When wind sweeps over the ocean, it causes water to evaporate and rise as water vapor. Storm Surge, an unusual rise of water generated by a storm’s winds that forms hurricanes, can reach heights well over 20 feet which makes hurricanes so dangerous.
In Texas, hurricane season spans from June to November, with peak activity in August and September. Texas is the second U.S. state, with Florida being the first, to have the most hurricanes, with a total of 64 of these tropical cyclones. Both Texas and Florida are near the Gulf of Mexico. Along with the Caribbean, the water in the Gulf of Mexico is considered shallow compared to the other oceans like the Atlantic,which leads to warmer water temperatures. Right now, the ocean temperatures are at around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, which is as warm as it usually is in September.
Before reaching Texas, Hurricane Beryl had already killed at least 9 people in parts of Mexico and the Caribbean. The Category 1 (sustained winds between 74 and 95 mph) hurricane hit around 4 a.m. Five hours later, it weakened and became a tropical storm.
Brotta Merwin, FOX Weather Meteorologist, was sheltering in an SUV near Surfside Beach, Texas, when she said, “It feels like the entire backs of my legs are on fire because it stings…as if you were getting a tattoo. Like, it’s that kind of feel of that persistent needle pressure against your skin.”
Furthermore, in Harris County, Texas, a man died from a tree falling on top of his house. Hurricanes are very destructive and dangerous, so we have to watch out and be prepared for them.