By: Kyle Xu

Hurricane Beryl bulldozed its way towards the United States with Category 5 winds of 165 mph through the Caribbean. The storm caused damage in southern Jamaica, causing power outages and damaging infrastructure. And Monday morning, it made landfall on the coast of Texas.

Beryl started off strong in the open water and then weakened to a tropical storm or Category 1 hurricane before making landfall at the Yucatán Peninsula. Continuing its journey towards Texas, it first damaged Matagorda, sustaining winds of 80 mph. Finally, it reached Houston, flooding its suburbs and surprising the people, who were all expecting a mild storm. Even the bayous (basins designed to control floodwater) were filled to the brims, some even overflowing.

The storm has now 11 confirmed deaths in its history. Two of the 11 deaths occurred when a 74-year-old woman and a 53-year-old man from Harris County were each killed when a tree fell straight through their homes’ roof. More than 2.5 million people and their homes have now lost power. Effects on the coasts of the U.S. have caused many to wonder: What’s the deal with Beryl?

Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami, blogged that Beryl’s early arrival in the hurricane season is due to record-breaking warm water in the Atlantic. This means that other hurricanes will definitely be seen, such as La Nina, the cooling phase of the hurricane El Nino.

Although Beryl is currently a Category 1 hurricane, it draws strength and danger from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, so we can expect it to re-intensify soon. Beryl made history when it made landfall as a hurricane, being the 10th July Texas hurricane to make landfall since 1851. It also became the first July hurricane landfall in Texas since 2020. Beryl is also the earliest calendar year landfalling hurricane in Texas since 1986.

Image Credit by Pixabay