Beryl, a cyclone that is expected to bring hurricane conditions to Texas on Monday, will move into the Midwest by midweek, bringing strong winds and rain with it. The storm will affect several states, including Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio.
Once Beryl hits Texas, it is predicted to travel northwards throughout the South and Midwest. As it moves, the cyclone is expected to weaken but maintain its tropical depression strength from Arkansas through Michigan throughout the week. A tropical depression is a cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 38 mph or less. Unlike tropical storms and hurricanes, tropical depressions are identified by numbers rather than names.
Current forecasts predict that Beryl’s remnants will extend into Ohio and Michigan by the end of the workweek. Heavy rainfall is expected to spread from eastern Texas through central Illinois by midweek, with several inches of rain possible as the storm moves northward, raising significant flash flooding concerns.
The Weather Prediction Center expects heavy rainfall to focus over northwest Arkansas to central Illinois, with areal averages around 2 to 5 inches and local maximums upwards of 8 inches. The storm formed in the Atlantic Ocean on June 29 and became the season’s first hurricane, breaking records along its journey and is expected to strengthen ahead of its Texas landfall.
