Tropical Storm Beryl made a rather ungracious entrance into Texas on Monday, knocking down power lines, flipping over trees that had been standing quite contentedly for decades, and generally making a mess of things across a broad swath of the state. As the storm tore through with winds topping 80 miles per hour, nearly three million residents found themselves without electricity, prompting a sudden and unexpected crash course in analog living.
The storm, which had earlier played a more dramatic role as a Category 5 hurricane in the Caribbean, opted to tone things down slightly before hitting Texas, yet still managed to cause at least two fatalities and a laundry list of disruptions. Among the casualties was a Houston resident pinned beneath a fallen tree, and a second man who tragically drove into floodwaters. As Beryl marched inland, moving northward into Arkansas, it left scenes of flooded streets, downed traffic lights, defeated patio furniture, and a general sense among Texans that perhaps Mother Nature is overdue for some anger management.
Governor Greg Abbott had pre-positioned emergency crews like chess pieces on a board before the storm arrived, and as the winds died down, those crews began their work clearing roads and restoring some semblance of normality. Over 1,500 personnel from the Texas National Guard and other emergency services were deployed, because no one wants to be left holding a flashlight for more than one day if they can help it.
At Houston’s airports, the mood was notably less airborne than usual as hundreds of flights were cancelled and a strong sense of grounded frustration hovered in the terminals. Those lucky enough to keep their power spent the day watching live radar loops while sipping lukewarm coffee and explaining to their children what a landline phone used to be.
Beryl was originally expected to maintain its Category 1 hurricane strength upon landfall, but tragically for local park benches and aluminum siding alike, it exceeded expectations, bringing with it not just wind and rain but also the usual helping of chaos and Monday morning grumbling.
Some storms blow through, others like Beryl show up uninvited, rearrange the furniture, and forget to say goodbye.