Hurricane Beryl causes wave of flight cancellations in Houston

July 8 (UPI) — More than 1,000 flights have been canceled to and from Houston’s two major airports as Hurricane Beryl batters South Texas with high winds, heavy rain and flash flooding.

According to flight tracking site FlightAware.com, 80% of flights departing from Bush Intercontinental Airport, or 525 flights in total, were canceled as of Monday morning, and another 123 flights, or 60% of all outbound flights, departing from William P. Hobby Airport.

Flightaware said 448 flights originally scheduled to Bush were canceled, or 66 percent of the airport’s inbound flights, while 103 inbound flights to Hobby, or 49 percent, were canceled.

The Houston Department of Aviation urged travelers to stay home Monday and not drive to the airport.

“As the storm approaches and people plan to stay indoors and shelter from the storm, we want to remind everyone that our airports are not equipped to serve as storm shelters,” the department said on X. “We are short on supplies and staff to accommodate those seeking shelter during the storm.”

Beryl has turned more northeastward, its eye moving toward South Texas on Monday with maximum winds of 75 mph and higher gusts. Beryl, while weakening, is not expected to be downgraded to a tropical storm until later Monday and to a tropical depression by Tuesday.

Forecasters predicted up to 6 inches of rain in Houston, leading to flash flooding around the sprawling city and near its two airports. Forecasters said winds of 92 mph (148 kph) were recorded Monday southwest of Houston in Freeport and Matagorda.

Shipping traffic was either restricted or closed prior to Beryl’s arrival, including the ports of Corpus Christi, Houston, Galveston, Freeport and Texas City.

According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm surge is expected to raise sea levels by up to seven feet at Port O’Connor through San Luis Pass, six feet at Sabine Pass and Galveston Bay, and five feet at High Island.

The National Hurricane Center said the fast-moving storm is expected to move toward the lower Mississippi Valley on Tuesday and then toward the Ohio Valley on Wednesday.

Although wind speeds are expected to decrease significantly throughout the day Monday, the storm is expected to continue to dump heavy rain on affected areas. Beryl is expected to dump up to 15 inches of rain on some areas of the central and upper Texas coast.

The storm will bring significant rainfall to northeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas and southern Missouri through Monday night and Tuesday.

The storm also triggered tornado warnings Monday for some areas along the upper coast of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.