SAN ANTONIO — Tropical Storm Beta made landfall around 10 p.m. Monday night along the middle Texas Coast. The storm had sustained winds of 45 mph but has lessened as it moves inland.
As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, Beta was downgraded to a tropical depression, but the flood threat remains for Southeast Texas for at least the next 24 hours.
Beta was nearly stationary (now moving northeast at only 2 mph) with winds at 35 mph. It is now expected to head east-northeast, moving slowly over Matagorda and Brazoria counties moving slowly up the Texas coast and through the Houston area.
Rain bands moved through South-Central Texas overnight and should continue throughout Tuesday.
A Tropical Storm Warning and Flash Flood Watch remain in effect for Lavaca and DeWitt Counties. Two to four inches of locally heavy rainfall and wind gusts up to 40 mph are possible across these areas. Moderate rainfall and wind gusts up to 30 mph could reach as far as Interstate 35.
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Governor Greg Abbott issued a Disaster Declaration Monday for 29 Texas counties in response to Tropical Storm Beta, including Bexar.
Counties included in this Disaster Declaration include Aransas, Bee, Bexar, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Hardin, Harris, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Liberty, Live Oak, Matagorda, Nueces, Orange, Refugio, Sabine, San Augustine, San Patricio, Shelby, Travis, Victoria, and Wharton.
"As Tropical Storm Beta approaches the coast, I urge Texans in the path of the storm to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions to keep themselves and their loved ones safe from flooding, storm surge, and other impacts from this severe weather," said Governor Abbott.
The National Hurricane Center's trajectory forecast for the storm moved further south, and said the storm could weaken more quickly than originally expected.
"Due to the slow motion of the storm, the primary hazards remain heavy rainfall, large and dangerous swells, and significant coastal flooding," said the National Weather Service in an update Sunday night.
Beta was the third system to get a name in seven hours on Friday, the first time three storms have ever been named in a day.
Wilfred formed in the Atlantic this week, which means we have officially run out of the"regular" 2020 Atlantic season hurricane names, and we will now continue on to the Greek alphabet. A short time later, Subtropical Storm Alpha formed near the coast of Portugal.
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