Eric Berger

In brief: Today’s post discusses why Beryl’s winds were so strong hours after landfall, and then looks ahead to a forecast with some decent rain chances and slightly cooler daytime highs.

Hurricane Beryl’s persistent winds

Normally as a hurricane traverses land it starts to weaken fairly quickly. But Beryl didn’t as it moved north from Matagorda into Fort Bend County and Sugar Land. The storm maintained much of its strength and bulldozed right into the heart of Houston with near hurricane-force sustained winds and higher gusts. Why?

I chatted a little bit about this with Eric Blake, a forecaster at the National Hurricane Center, on the social media site X Tuesday. He noted that just as it was coming ashore, Beryl was starting to intensify rapidly, with a closed-off eyewall. He believes it would have been a Category 2 hurricane with just six more hours over the water. Thus, there was a lot of momentum built up by the storm.

So I think the storm’s long-lasting winds were a combination of factors. First, as Beryl moved north at about 12 mph, it crossed much of Houston just six hours after landfall. Second, as the storm came ashore with such momentum toward intensification, it took some time and interaction with land to unwind that momentum. Only after this could it start to weaken more rapidly once it passed north of Houston.

Weather isn’t all bad

I’m a weather and space nerd, so when I’m outside I always like to look up. Mother Nature has delivered us some harsh blows of late, but the skies were beautiful on Tuesday evening. I took this photograph of mammatus clouds just at sunset on Tuesday south of Houston, while walking around my neighborhood.

Wednesday

Skies today will be mostly sunny, with just very light northeasterly winds. Expect high temperatures in the low-90s for most locations, with inland areas possibly hitting the mid-90s. It will be a very warm day, with plenty of humidity. Areas near the coast, such as Matagorda and Brazoria counties, may see some showers and thunderstorms develop this afternoon, but most of our area should be rain-free.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Our pattern turns slightly more unsettled toward the end of the week as a stalled boundary will open the door to increased rain chances, especially for locations south of Interstate 10. Daily rain chances for these coastal areas will be on the order of 50 percent, with slightly lesser odds inland. Showers should mostly occur with peak heating, during the afternoon hours. Overall accumulations through the weekend don’t look excessive, but areas closer to the coast could see 0.5 to 1 inch of rainfall, or a little more. The increased cloud cover will help to moderate daytime temperatures a bit, with highs expected in the range of upper 80s to lower 90s.

Next week

We’re going to really need our utilities to deliver on restoring power for everyone next week, because as high pressure likely becomes a little more dominant, we’re going to see daytime temperatures creep back upward. I’m not expecting a full-blown heat wave, but this kind of pattern typically produces highs at least in the mid-90s in the Houston area in July. That’s pretty hot to be without power.

In brief: Houston will see a warm, mostly sunny pattern for the next couple of days before rain chances tick up a bit toward the end of the week. These will mostly be seabreeze type showers, so nothing too crazy. They should help to keep highs generally in the low 90s into the weekend as millions struggle without electricity.

Beryl aftermath

Beryl will soon dissipate, but as of this morning it remains a tropical depression moving rapidly to the northeast over Arkansas. It will not be a factor in our weather going forward. Bayous and creeks are quickly returning to normal levels, and coastal waters have retreated. We are left to cleanup, and there is plenty of work to do with CenterPoint still reporting 1.8 million customers with outages, Entergy with 232,000 outages north of Houston, and Texas New Mexico Power 92,000 customers mostly south of the city. Houston will not be as hot as it could be in July, but it will still be plenty hot this week unfortunately.

One discovery made at the Berger household is that one of our downed trees contained a huge bee’s nest. I had seen more bees of late near our garage, but I had no idea this was there. We’re working to get the hive moved to an apiary. Pretty wild stuff.

Tuesday

Skies will be mostly sunny today, with high temperatures in the low 90s. Winds will be light, generally from the northwest. Given the sunshine and high humidity levels, we’ll see “high” heat levels today based on wet bulb globe temperatures, so please drink plenty of water and take a cold shower or bath if possible to cool down. Low temperatures tonight will drop into the upper 70s, providing some modest relief. Rain chances will be near zero today.

Wednesday

Another mostly sunny day with highs generally in the low 90s. Rain chances will again be low, with light northeasterly winds.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday

These days will see a mix of clouds and sunshine, this should continue to help keep high temperatures in the low 90s. Rain chances will be better on each of these days, with the influx of some moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. We’re talking perhaps a 30 to 50 percent chance each day of mostly light to moderate showers and thunderstorms. Total accumulations for most areas through the weekend will probably be on the order of one-half inch of rain, or less. Nighttime temperatures should continue to remain in the upper 70s.

Sunday and next week

More sunshine and lower (but not non-existent) rain chances arrive next week. We can probably expect highs in the low- to mid-90s, with nights trending a bit warmer.

Good luck to everyone today with storm recovery!

In brief: This post will provide some forecast information about Beryl and what to expect in the days ahead, but its main purpose is to try and answer a lot of the questions we’ve been receiving since the landfall of Beryl.

Bye, Bye Beryl

Beryl is whizzing away from Houston. As of 4 pm CT the storm is already 110 miles north of Houston, and pulling away at 16 mph. The storm has weakened into 45-mph tropical system and its weather effects on our region are marginal at this point. Soon they will be nil.

Forecast for this week

It could be worse for mid-July. Losing power during the summertime in Houston is very, very suboptimal, but at least we’re not jumping back into full-on summer heat right away. High temperatures for the rest of this week will be in the low 90s, with a transition to the mid-90s by the weekend. Overnight lows should also drop into the upper 70s for most locations, a few degrees cooler than we’ve been experiencing.

The lower daytime temperatures will be partly due to a fair amount of cloud cover during the afternoons, and a decent chance of showers and thunderstorms each day. (Right now overall accumulations each day look to be on the order of a tenth of an inch, or two, so no real concerns there). Humidity is still going to be very high. Winds are going to go from extreme to near zero by Tuesday morning. In terms of wet bulb globe temperatures, we’re talking high, but not extreme heat.

Is there anything else out there in the tropics to be worried about?

Nope.

We expect to see a lull in tropical activity for at least the rest of this week, if not longer, which is normal for July. Lord knows we’ve earned it. Several people have asked whether Beryl means it’s more or less likely we see another storm this season. I don’t think it makes any difference to our odds. We’ve still got about two and half months during which we need to remain really watchful of the tropics.

Creek and bayou flooding

Most of the creek and bayou flooding we’ve seen on Monday has peaked, or will soon. In the absence of heavy rainfall, and with our winds turning southwesterly, we will see these waters recede pretty quickly this afternoon and evening.

What is up with all these power outages?

I’ve got to tell you, I’m rather surprised by the extent of the power outages today due to downed trees, power lines, and damaged transmission equipment.

As of 2:30 pm CT today, CenterPoint reports that 2.2 million of its Houston-area customers are without electricity, or about 85 percent of them. I’m blown away because, during Hurricane Ike in 2008, there were about 2.1 million customers without power in the immediate aftermath of the storm. If you had asked me before Beryl whether I expected to see comparable outages during this storm, I would have emphatically said no.

Large chunks of the Houston metro area experienced sustained winds of 75 to 90 mph during Hurricane Ike, which made landfall with 110 mph winds. However, during Beryl, the maximum sustained winds that most communities experienced were on the order of 45 to 70 mph. (Beryl made landfall about 80 miles south of Houston with 80-mph sustained winds). So I really don’t understand why a majority of the Houston region is without power this afternoon. Beryl was a serious wind storm, but it was not Ike.

Is my internet coming back anytime soon?

When the power went out, it also took most of our broadband internet providers. The intricacies of internet service are beyond the scope of this site, but generally broadband providers like Comcast need electricity at the local level to deliver internet to your home. So my sense is that, for most communities, high-speed internet won’t come back until the power comes back. I’ve been (not so) patiently checking Xfinity’s site for my service address, and the estimated time of restoration remains an ominous, “as soon as possible.”

As for cell phone towers, you may have just a bar or two of service, which is not really enough to surf the web but still allows you to text and make phone calls. That’s because cell towers are subject to power outages as well. They have backup electrical systems, such as batteries or generators. Some carriers have trucks to service batteries or refill fuel-powered generators, but my understanding is that high-speed cell service may also be dependent on electricity being restored to nearby cell towers. 

Are y’all gonna take a breath now, or what?

Like so many of you, Matt and I both experienced some issues with Beryl. In my case it was several large downed trees and limbs. (Shoutout to my neighbor, Andy, for being handy with his chainsaw so I could use my driveway). I continue to have no internet service, so I drove to Dwight’s house to research and write this update.

The bottom line is that we’re reverting to a normal, daily posting routine starting Tuesday morning. And the posts may be a bit late as we get things back in order. But honestly the forecast is super straightforward: warm-to-hot days, mild nights, high humidity, and a decent chance of showers and thunderstorms with daytime heating.

I want to offer a sincere thank you to everyone who followed along with us during Beryl, a storm that proved a beast to forecast, and which packed a surprisingly strong punch for a Category 1 hurricane making landfall to the south of Houston. I think I speak for everyone but the roofers and tree trimmers when I say, good riddance!

In brief: Everyone in Houston, whether you want to be or not, is a storm chaser this morning. The worst of Beryl should unfold over the next three to six hours, after which we will see improving conditions from south to north. This post describes what to expect during this period of most intense conditions from the storm.

A few thoughts on the arrival of Beryl

Good morning, everyone. Beryl is finally here—not that you need me to tell you that—and so far things are going about as expected. The storm is presently nearing Fort Bend County, and its center will pass through the western half of the city of Houston between now and about 11 am CT. The very worst of Beryl’s effects will be over by then for the city.

Let’s start with some good news. The storm is continuing to move just east of north at about 12 mph, which will allow it to clear the area by this afternoon. We are highly confident in that forward speed. Additionally, the storm did intensify some prior to landfall, but it came ashore as a low-end Category 1 hurricane, with 80-mph winds. Given that Beryl had more than two full days and nights over the Gulf of Mexico to intensify, and with water temperatures in the upper 80s and increasingly low shear conditions, I consider us to be fortunate that Beryl was that strength at landfall. It was starting to intensify, in earnest, as it came ashore. Another 12 to 24 hours and it’s likely a significantly more powerful hurricane.

That may be small comfort if you’re sitting at home this morning without electricity or have some property damage; or if you’re just feeling really miserable as the tempest engulfs you. But this could have been much worse had Beryl gotten to 90 or 100 mph prior to landfall. It’s ultimate track is going to bring the storm’s center and worst winds and rains over large parts of the Houston metro area. This is a very bad track for wind damage with a Category 2 or Category 3 hurricane.

What’s next for Beryl

As the storm encounters land it will start to weaken today. However the storm should remain at or near hurricane strength as it traverses the metro area this morning. The center will move through Fort Bend County, passing near Sugar Land, and up through the western half of Harris County. It will then push into Montgomery County by or before noon before exiting to our north early this afternoon. And then, it will be gone.

Beryl’s winds

Much of the Houston region is starting to see sustained winds above tropical storm force strength this morning, with gusts of 60 mph or higher. These winds should increase a little bit as they reach their peak levels across much of Houston over the next four hours. For areas north of the city, including Montgomery County, peak winds should come a little bit later, perhaps between 10 am and noon CT.

As the winds have increased this morning, the number of power outages in the metro area have steadily increased. As of 5:45 am CT, CenterPoint is up to 396,000 customers without power. Expect that number to increase as Beryl pushes inland. Efforts to restore power should begin as early as later this afternoon as the winds subside.

Heavy rainfall

The strongest band of showers and thunderstorms is now moving through the metro area, roughly along Interstate 45, from Galveston to League City, on into central Houston. These storms are dropping 2 to 3 inches of rain per hour and there are numerous reports of flooded streets. Based on radar trends, I anticipate these rains will slowly lift north with the storm over the next several hours.

Expect the heaviest rainfall to end, from north to south, likely between the hours of 8 am and Noon CT. Additional showers will be possible thereafter, but the worst should be over. Expect accumulations of 4 to 8 inches for most locations, with the potential for some higher bullseyes.

Tornadoes

We’ve already had one tornado warning this morning for areas north of Houston (it has since ended) and we expect some sporadic twisters to spin up as Beryl’s core moves through the city. These will be fast moving tornadoes, and likely only touchdown for a short period of time. If you receive a warning on your mobile phone, please seek an interior room on the lowest level.

Coastal flooding

Storm surge flooding will peak over the next hour or two, with high tide coming in a few hours. These waters will rapidly recede this afternoon as Beryl pulls away.

Our advice this morning

The worst of Beryl is now upon us. Conditions may deteriorate a bit further this morning, before we start to see improvement in conditions by late morning hours. So hunker down for the next 4 to 6 hours, and then we can begin to assess the damage and move forward. If roads are passable (considering flood waters or downed trees) it should be safe to be out and about this afternoon, and especially this evening.

Our next update will come between 10 am and 11 am CT.