(NewsNation) — Hurricane Beryl, which killed at least nine in its path across the Caribbean, is expected to hit Texas by Monday morning but could diminish to a tropical storm by then, forecasters predict.
Beryl, the first hurricane of the 2024 season and the earliest to reach Category 5, was downgraded from Category 3 to Category 2 Thursday afternoon, with winds reaching 110 mph. The storm is moving west-northwest at about 20 mph.
The head of Mexico’s civil defense agency, Laura Velázquez, said Thursday that Beryl is expected to be a Category 1 hurricane when it hits a relatively unpopulated stretch south of Tulum early Friday.
But once Beryl reemerges into the Gulf of Mexico a day later, she said, it is again expected to build to hurricane strength and could hit right around the Mexico-U.S. border at Matamoros. Tropical Storm Alberto already soaked that area in June.
Waves from Hurricane Beryl hit the seawall in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) 
Fisherman Hamilton Cosmos looks at vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) 
A fisherman looks out at vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) 
A fisherman looks at fishing vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) 
Fishing vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl sit upended at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) 
A fisherman looks at fishing vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino has issued a voluntary evacuation order for the state’s most southern county but is not requiring residents and guests to leave at this time. The order was issued as a precautionary measure as state officials continue to monitor the storm’s path.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas Department of Emergency Management to issue advisories as needed. State officials are urging residents to follow local guidance as the state braces for the storm to make landfall early next week.
AccuWeather meteorologists said although the risk of direct impacts has remained low in areas across parts of Florida and Louisiana, the risk intensifies as it approaches parts of Texas, including Corpus Christi and Brownsville, USA Today reported.
“That southern portion of the Texas coast is the zone we have to really watch,” AccuWeather meteorologist Jonathan Porter told the newspaper.
Meanwhile, The Weather Channel warns that Beryl will create high surf, rip currents and coastal flooding along parts of the Gulf Coast from eastern Mexico to Texas and western Louisiana beginning as soon as Saturday. The rip current threat could even extend farther east along the northern Gulf Coast as well.