By: Cynthia He

On Monday morning, tropical storm Beryl attacked Texas with its strong winds and rain.

Recently, the tropical storm Beryl arrived on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Beryl has caused tornado warnings in East Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The hurricane has killed at least four people and knocked out power for millions.

Beryl first appeared in the United States close to Matagorda, a coastal town in Texas, which was 85 miles southwest of Houston. _ with wind speeds of 80 mph.

At least 7 people in Houston have been killed by Beryl. Most were killed by fallen trees. One died due to a fire started by lightning. Another death was of an employee from the police department working as an information security officer. He drowned in his car when the water levels got too high.

So far Beryl caused around three million homes and businesses to lose power. With the power out for hours, many Texas residents worry that their food could spoil in the refrigerator.

“We are struggling to have food and losing that food would be difficult,” Eva Costancio, a woman living in Houston, said to the Associated Press.

Meteorologists expected Beryl to quickly intensify by using warm ocean water as a fuel. The waters that formed Beryl in June were warmer than normal at this time of the year. Researchers believe that this is the work of climate change. Our warming planet is the reason for the frequency of major hurricanes. It has also caused hurricanes to grow stronger quickly.

“There are a number of tornadoes now being reported in northeast Texas,” the lieutenant governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, said to the New York Times.

This is only the start of hurricane season. It is also the first time this early in the season that a storm reached a Category 5 level, like Beryl, which seemed like a peak-season storm. Even though Beryl weakened to Category 1 before arriving in Texas, the storm still inflicted significant damage.

New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/07/07/us/texas-hurricane-beryl
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/07/07/us/hurricane-beryl-texas#why-beryl-is-a-bad-sign-for-this-years-hurricane-season

NBC News:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/live-blog/hurricane-beryl-live-updates-dangerous-storm-landfall-texas-rcna160654

KCRA/Associated Press:
https://www.kcra.com/article/tracking-beryl-july-8/61529214