Hurricane Beryl Hits Texas Coast, Moves Inland

When Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas coast near Matagorda, 100 miles southwest of Houston, as a Category 1 storm at 4 a.m. local time July 8, it brought power outages, sustained winds of 80 miles an hour, storm surge and heavy rainfall.

Wind gusts of up to 92 mph were recorded near Freeport, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Vessels all along the Texas coast executed storm plans as Beryl approached.

Brock Deville, a port captain for American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL), rode out Hurricane Beryl aboard the mv. Capt. Doug Wright in ACBL’s Lost Lake Fleet near Houston. Deville said heavy rain and wind reached the fleet by around 5:30 or 6 a.m. that morning.

“I’d say the worst of the storm was probably between 8 and 11,” Deville said. “That’s when we started seeing the 80-, 90-, 95-mile-an-hour winds, and the surge started coming in. It came in really quick.”

Deville estimated that the fleet experienced a 4-foot to 6-foot surge, but the entire fleet remained secure.

“Barge maintenance and our guys in the fleet, prior to the storm, did a great job securing everything,” he said. “We got through the storm very well. Very, very well.”

Deville attributed that to both excellent safety protocols and day-to-day experience.

“With the experience we get over a decade of steering and decking and everything else, by the time you get to these points, you’re pretty well prepared, with the amount of hours that our teammates train,” Deville said, later adding, “The job prepares you.”

A disaster declaration was issued for 121 Texas counties, and search and rescue teams were on standby as the storm came ashore. About 1.3 million residents lost power in the Houston area, and another 120,000 in Matagorda County. A storm surge warning and a tropical storm warning was in effect along the Texas coast from north of San Luis Pass to Sabine Pass, including Galveston Bay.

Three deaths in Texas were attributed to the storm, two from trees falling on houses and one of a Houston police employee who drowned in floodwaters. A total of 19 deaths in U.S. territories, including the Windward Islands, have been attributed to Beryl.

Beryl’s winds weakened to tropical storm level as it moved inland, spawning tornadoes in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Indiana and beyond. Beryl’s remnants also dumped rain on the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys.

The Port of Corpus Christi reported no significant storm impacts. By July 9 it was already transitioning to post-storm recovery efforts in accordance with its 2024 Hurricane Readiness Plan. Port facilities, including the Emergency Operations Center, Security Command Center and Harbormaster’s Office, maintained continuous uninterrupted operations. The Port of Corpus Christi Ship Channel was opened by July 8.

The USCG Captain of the Port Corpus Christi rescinded Port Condition Zulu for the following waterways: the Intracoastal Waterway from Mile 521 near Rockport, south to the US-Mexico border—including Rockport Cut and Lydia Ann Channel—and the Corpus Christi Ship Channel and La Quinta Channel on July 8. As of July 11, most of the Houston-area waterways were open to navigation, although some with restrictions, and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from the Colorado Locks eastward to Pelican Cut remained closed to vessel traffic.  Beryl caused widespread damage to aids to navigation throughout the Texas coast. By the morning of July 12, the entire length of the GIWW was open to navigation, with one area of minor shoaling noted between Mile Markers 455 and 457 WHL (west of Harvey Lock).

Moving inland, Beryl’s remnants spawned a tornado that caused damage to the Ports of Indiana and surrounding Mount Vernon, Ind., businesses on July 9.

“Crews have been working diligently to clear the roads and place emergency signage throughout the port,” Ports of Indiana said in a July 10 statement. “The roads within the port are all now passable. Engineering crews will be inspecting port infrastructure such as bridges, railroads and warehouses to ensure they are safe for use.”

The port is working with its 12 tenants to assess damage and recover from the tornado.

“We are here to support them in their cleanup and rebuilding efforts,” the statement read. “The port operations support nearly 8,200 jobs in both the local and regional community; we are committed to ensuring the port is again fully functional.”

Aerial photos from the Evansville/Vanderburgh County Emergency Management Agency, which was called in as part of the damage assessment, captured roof damage to a warehouse belonging to Kenco Logistics, immediately adjacent to the port. 

The Evansville Courier & Press newspaper reported that several locations at the Ports of Indiana were damaged, including a grain bin that lost its roof. Black Township Fire Chief Jay Price told reporters there was also damage to the Consolidated Grain and Barge facility. Jerrod Prather, a terminal supervisor for Nutrien Ag Solutions, said he saw the tornado on a security camera.

“I saw it come down and kind of lift back up, and then come down again,” Prather told the Courier & Press.

Preliminary damage reports filed with the National Weather Service’s Paducah, Ky., forecast office cited damage in Posey County, Ind., including a train derailment, as well as damage to utility lines, homes and businesses.

“There was substantial damage in the Mount Vernon area,” said Andy Lesage, a meteorologist at the forecast office.

The worst of it was in the immediate area surrounding the Kenco facility, he said. Initial assessments indicated the damage was caused by an EF-3 tornado with sustained winds near 140 mph.

The National Weather Service reported that at 4:21 p.m. a confirmed “large and extremely dangerous tornado” was located over Mount Vernon, moving north at 25 mph. The office added that live video from the public captured the tornado on the ground. 

The Evansville/Vanderburgh County Emergency Management Agency began receiving reports around 4:15 p.m. July 9 of a large tornado crossing the Ohio River from Union County, Ky., and impacting the east side of Mount Vernon. No serious injuries had been reported, the agency said.

(With additional reporting by Frank McCormack)