As the first major hurricane of the 2024 season, Beryl formed in the Main Development Region of the Atlantic Ocean and ripped through the Yucatán Peninsula and Caribbean as a Category 5 hurricane, with winds reaching over 150 mph (CBS). It was redesignated as a Category 1 before making its landfall near Matagorda, Texas in the early morning on July 8, 2024. Heavy rainfall, flooding, and wind gusts of up to 84 mph prompted acting Governor Dan Patrick to request aid for 121 counties (Office of the Texas Governor).
On July 10, 2024 President Joseph Biden approved a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of Texas which made federal funding available to more than 60 counties affected by Hurricane Beryl from July 5-9 (FEMA).
After wreaking havoc along the Gulf Coast of Texas, the outer bands of Beryl created tornadoes as the weather event moved inland, with tornadoes touching down in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Indiana, and New York (Newsweek). Hurricane Beryl set records for prompting issue of the most tornado warnings as well as the earliest Category 5 hurricane of the season, with its formation beginning at the end of June.
Date of event: June 28-July 11, 2024
Impact:
- More than 2 million homes and businesses without power in Texas (AP News)
- Over $2.5 billion in storm-related damage in Texas (FOX Weather)
- At least 33 fatalities across the United States, Caribbean, and Venezuela (Trinidad and Tobago Weather Center)
- 110 tornado warnings issued across multiple American states (Newsweek)
Related Resources:
- How the Federal Government Should Build Local Governments’ Capacity for Addressing Disasters
- U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather & Climate Disasters 1980-2023
- 2023 Hurricane Outlooks and 2022 Hurricane Season Review [Updated August 10, 2023]
- Technology Assessment: Artificial Intelligence in Natural Hazard Modeling: Severe Storms, Hurricanes, Floods, And Wildfires, Report to Congressional Addressees
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