Texas coast braces for potential hit from Beryl

Texas officials are urging coastal residents to brace for a potential hit by Beryl as the storm is expected to regain hurricane strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

"We're expecting the storm to make landfall somewhere on the Texas coast sometime Monday, if the current forecast is correct," said Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

"Should that happen, it'll most likely be a category one hurricane."

The earliest storm to develop into a category five 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 two hurricane, toppling trees but causing no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatan Peninsula.

The US National Hurricane Centre predicts that Beryl will intensify before making landfall, prompting expanded hurricane and storm surge watches.

Beven said a hurricane warning is expected to be issued Sunday.

The storm will bring a dangerous storm surge — flooding portions of the Texas coast — along with high winds and heavy rains in areas, he said.

"There is an increasing risk of damaging hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge along portions of the lower and middle Texas coast late Sunday into Monday," the Centre said, also warning that flash and urban flooding is likely in the eastern part of the state through the middle of next week.

Texas officials warned the state's entire coastline to brace for possible flooding, heavy rain and wind as they wait for a more defined path of the storm.

The hurricane centre has issued hurricane and storm surge watches for the Texas coast from the mouth of the Rio Grande north to San Luis Pass, less than 130 kilometres south of Houston.

On Saturday, Beryl was about 670 kilometres southeast of Corpus Christi and had top sustained winds of 95 km/h, according to the National Hurricane Centre.

It was moving west-northwest at 19 km/h.

Texas acting governor Dan Patrick issued a pre-emptive disaster declaration for 40 counties.

Some Texas coastal cities called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas prone to flooding, banned beach camping and urged tourists travelling on the July 4 holiday weekend to move recreational vehicles from coastal parks.