Beryl churns in the Gulf of Mexico as Texas braces for a potential hit

This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 4:16 p.m. EDT on Friday, July 5, 2024, and provided by NOAA, shows Hurricane Beryl over Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Texas officials urged coastal residents to prepare as the storm moves toward the Gulf of Mexico. (NOAA via AP)

TULUM, Mexico — After battering Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Beryl moved back into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico where it was expected to regain hurricane strength Saturday before taking aim at the Texas coast, where officials urged residents to brace for a potential hit.

The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean islands earlier in the week. It then battered Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane, toppling trees but causing no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the peninsula.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center predicted late Friday that Beryl would intensify on Saturday before making landfall, prompting expanded hurricane and storm surge watches.