1.5 Million Homes Lose Power as Cat 1 Hurricane Beryl Makes Texas Landfall

More than 1.5 million Texas households were without power Monday morning as Hurricane Beryl made landfall on the state’s central coast. Beryl’s eye crossed the Texas coastline early Monday near Matagorda, Texas.

PowerOutage.us reports that more than 1.5 million Texas electricity customers are without electricity — mostly from the impact of Hurricane Beryl. Power outages run from the central Texas coast, to Houston, and on to East Texas.

Energy industry meteorologist Matt Lanza posted on social media that more than 750,000 Texas homes were without electricity, just in the Centerpoint Energy service area (metro Houston). Thousands more are without power in counties ranging from the central Texas coast into East Texas.

Texas Division of Emergency Management officials warned that rain bands will lead to flooding in many areas of the state.

Shortly before sunrise, Hurricane Beryl made landfall near Matagorda, Texas. National Weather Service updates indicate the storm brought winds of up to 80 mph and a life-threatening storm surge to the coastal area.

Further up the Texas coast, storm chaser Reed Timmer posted a video showing rising tides on Sargent Beach. Forecasters predicted a storm surge of up to six feet in the area.

Hurricane-force winds reached Galveston before sunrise as well. Video from The Weather Channel meteorologist Molly McCollum shows the powerful blasts of wind on the beach community.

Beryl is expected to slowly makes its way on a path that will skirt Houston’s west side and move northeast into East Texas. Flash flooding and massive power outages are expected along the storm’s pathway.