Beryl threatens Oklahoma, Arkansas and southern Missouri with heavy rain
Even as it weakened today to a tropical depression, the remnants of Hurricane Beryl are potent enough to bring as much as 5 inches of rain to Oklahoma, Arkansas and southern Missouri tomorrow, forecasters said.
The storm will become disorganized on its path north-northeast into the American interior, the National Hurricane Center said in an evening bulletin.
But Beryl is potent enough to produce another 4 to 8 inches of rain, with 12 inches possible, overnight in parts of eastern Texas, the center said. Flash flooding was possible, and rivers could overflow, it said in an evening bulletin.
Unsettled air associated with the system could produce “several tornadoes” tonight in parts of east Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, the center said. The tornado risk will move north-northeast with Beryl to southeast Missouri, northern Tennessee, Kentucky, southern Illinois, southern Indiana and Ohio tomorrow, it said.
The storm, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, was about 30 miles east-southeast of Tyler, Texas, early this evening, according to the hurricane center.
It was headed out of Texas tonight at 16 mph and expected to move more directly toward the northeast faster tomorrow, forecasters said. As it continues to weaken, Beryl will be designated a post-tropical cyclone, they said.