Hurricane Beryl bore down on Texas this week. Early Monday morning, Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 storm with 94 MPH winds and the requisite rainfall and storm surges.
In some ways, the state was prepared. The Coast Guard declared port condition Zulu on Sunday, which shut down ports in Houston, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Freeport, and Texas City
“Under port condition Zulu, all vessel movement and cargo operations are restricted,” Freightwaves explains. Ports remained closed on Monday and Tuesday, and Freightwaves adds, “It’s unclear when the Coast Guard will lift condition Zulu and allow the ports to resume regular operations.”
Monday, July 8, 2024, 4:05 PM Weather Update:
All Port Houston terminals will remain closed tomorrow (Tuesday, July 9, 2024).
We will continue to assess and repair damage this afternoon and tomorrow and will send an update by 4 PM CT tomorrow for Wednesday operations. pic.twitter.com/QvSUO1AQz7
— Port Houston (@Port_Houston) July 8, 2024
“Hurricane Beryl’s track shifted eastward over the past 48 hours, with the storm making landfall in the coastal town of Matagorda, about 95 miles south of Houston,” Freightwaves reported on Monday. “The storm had been predicted to make landfall near or south of Corpus Christi and travel north through Laredo, San Antonio, and Austin.”
The eastward movement of the storm made things easier for central Texas. My pastor and his wife adopted a baby in Texas, and they had to leave Corpus Christi for San Antonio. Their caseworker advised them to travel to Austin, but they remained in San Antonio, which turned out to be a sensible decision.
Nevertheless, Beryl left a mark on the Lone Star State. As of this writing, PowerOutage.us reported just over 2 million customers without power, along with 11,445 in Louisiana. Of course, Texans have other ways to measure power outages.
The Whataburger app works as a power outage tracker, handy since the electric company doesn’t show a map.
Still nearly 1.9 million power outages. pic.twitter.com/d8srWmw1oV— BBQ Bryan (@BBQBryan) July 9, 2024
The Whataburger Index is new to me since the chain just recently moved into Georgia, but it seems to be as reliable as the famous Waffle House Index that we Southerners use to measure the electrical impact of storms. Apparently it’s new to Whataburger, too.
Well there’s a use for our app we didn’t think of! We hope you and everyone else are okay!
Can you DM us a good mailing address? We’d love to send you something for using the app so creatively!
— Whataburger® (@Whataburger) July 9, 2024
Texans have been rallying around each other as they are wont to do. People are eager to jump in and help out in any way they can.
Loading up tools, water, drinks and headed to town to see who and what we can help. pic.twitter.com/HdDeL1GA80
— Emperor Spud CTO (@GooseW900) July 8, 2024
Others are making the best of a tough situation. Check out how one man responded when he found himself stranded in a parking lot:
A #Houston man was stranded in Whataburger parking lot due to quickly rising floodwaters.
While waiting on floodwaters to recede, he grabbed a fishing pole out of his vehicle and caught a nice bass in a nearby flooded ditch.
If that ain’t Texas, I don’t know what is. 🤠 🎣 pic.twitter.com/bClvOvK4BZ
— TRAP SHIESTY (@ITSHIM274) July 8, 2024
See, there’s Whataburger again. For the uninitiated, Whataburger is a big deal.
Pray for those whom Beryl affected, and pray for everyone in the path of what remains of the storm.
