Storm Beryl shifts toward Houston, could make landfall as Category 2 hurricane (updated)

Gibson Energy

07/07/2024 18:26

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      Hurricane warnings issued across much of Texas coast
    

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      Storm previously caused 11 deaths and destruction in the
Caribbean
    

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      Oil companies adjust operations; Shell evacuates workers
from
platforms
    

  
 (Adds update on storm impacts, port and school closings, acting
governor quote, paragraphs 3-7)
    By Tyler Clifford
       July 7 (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Beryl could grow into
a Category 2 hurricane by the time it makes landfall in the
Houston area early on Monday as it regains strength moving
northwest over the Gulf of Mexico, according to the U.S.
National Hurricane Center.
    The storm was expected to strengthen into a Category 1
hurricane on Sunday as it travels over warm waters. The NHC
issued hurricane warnings across much of the Texas coast.
    Forecasters warned that Beryl could bring punishing winds
and 5 to 10 inches (13 to 25 centimeters) of rain to the Texas
coast and beyond.
    Coastal areas were already seeing waters rise on Sunday and
county officials ordered one beach town evacuated. The U.S.
Coast Guard shut the port of Houston on Sunday afternoon due to
worsening sea conditions. It also closed the ports of Texas
City, Freeport and Galveston in Texas.
    School systems including Houston's - the state's largest -
said they would be closed Monday.
    National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan warned on
Sunday afternoon that residents had only a few more hours to
prepare. "If you have been asked to leave by local officials,
please do so," he said. 
    Acting Texas Governor Dan Patrick said Beryl "will be a
deadly storm for people who are directly in that path." He
declared 120 counties to be in a disaster area. 
    The storm has prompted closures or vessel traffic
restrictions at multiple ports in cities from Houston to Corpus
Christi, which is the top crude oil export hub in the U.S. The
closures could disrupt crude oil exports, shipments of crude to
refineries, and motor fuel from these plants.
    Temperatures in the region are forecast at above 90 degrees
Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) in the coming days, including heat
indices as high as 108 on Sunday. Parts of eastern Texas were on
flood watch ahead of the storm, which had maximum wind speeds of
60 mph (96 kph) as of Sunday morning. 
    Earlier this week the storm, which at one point intensified
into the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, left a deadly
trail of destruction across the Caribbean. It swept through
Jamaica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, in addition to
unleashing heavy rainfall on northern Venezuela.
    It has claimed at least 11 lives, tearing apart buildings
while felling power lines and trees.
    Beryl last made landfall on Friday, crossing Mexico's
Yucatan Peninsula and causing power outages in some areas. It
largely spared the top beach destinations there and caused no
casualties. Video showed the international airport at Cancun
packed with tourists on Saturday as they rescheduled flights
home after the storm.
    With Beryl now approaching Texas, the National Weather
Service warned of storm surges causing coastal flooding and rip
currents. 
    
    OIL REFINERIES 
    Most of the northern Gulf's offshore oil and gas production
is east of Beryl's forecast track.
    Some oil producers, including Shell  SHEL.L  and Chevron
 CVX.N , had evacuated personnel from their Gulf of Mexico
offshore production platforms ahead of the storm.
   Citgo Petroleum Corp said it plans to keep the Corpus Christi
refinery running at minimum production as the storm moves up the
coast.
   Gibson Energy  GEI.TO , which operates a large oil terminal
in Corpus Christi, said operations were continuing, but it would
take further steps depending on the forecast.
       

 (Reporting by Tyler Clifford and Brad Heath; Editing by Donna
Bryson, Lisa Shumaker, Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot)
 ((mailto:chizu.nomiyama@thomsonreuters.com))