Tropical Storm Beta floods highways in Houston area

Tropical Storm Beta made landfall in Texas at about 10 p.m. Monday night north of Port O’Connor. Dangerous storm surges have already closed numerous highways near the Houston region.

As of Tuesday morning, the Texas Department of Transportation is reporting several highway closures after Tropical Storm Beta dumped rain in the Gulf area. Houston Chief of Police Art Acevedo said about 56 high water areas have been affected. Some of the most significant closures include:

• Interstate 45 near Woodland Heights.
• Interstate 10 near Woodland Heights.
• Interstate 610 near Willow Meadows/Willowbend area.
• State Highway 288 from south of I-610 to just north of U.S. 90.

Water from Tropical Storm Beta is being reported over several other stretches of highways. In some cases, some lanes remain open. In other cases, only frontage roads are affected.

For updated road conditions, go to DriveTexas.org.

Significant flash and urban flooding is affecting the Houston area. The National Hurricane center states this will continue for the middle and upper Texas coast throughout Tuesday. As Tropical Storm Beta moves at a slow pace, long-duration rain events will impact areas from the middle Texas coast to southern Louisiana. On Monday, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 29 counties in affected areas.

The National Hurricane Center is reporting that Tropical Storm Beta, now a tropical depression, is slowly drifting northeast. Faster movement is expected Wednesday and Thursday through Louisiana and Mississippi. Forecasters expect the storm to dissipate in about four days. Forecast models show the storm remaining inland near the Gulf Coast. Since the storm will be inland, it is unlikely it will regain strength to a tropical storm.

Tropical Storm Beta is the first storm named after a Greek letter to reach landfall in the U.S. This is only the second time the Greek alphabet has been used to name storms. Each year, forecasters name storms ahead of the hurricane season using male and female names in alphabetical order. After 26 storms, the Greek alphabet is used in lieu of the traditional names.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November, with September being the peak. The statistical peak is Sept. 10, according to The Weather Channel. Storms can form as late as early December.