Parts of South Texas drenched, flooded despite Tropical Storm Beta weakening

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As Tropical Storm Beta churned in the Gulf of Mexico on Sept. 21, strong wind and rough surf pounded Galveston, Texas, causing flooding along streets. Accuweather

Tropical Storm Beta began heading north and east of Corpus Christi, but the area still received rain on Monday.

Around midday Monday, the storm was 84 miles from Port Aransas, moving west northwest at 7 mph. Its maximum sustained winds decreased to 50 mph from wind speeds in the 60s on Sunday. The storm was expected to weaken further as it makes landfall on the central Texas coast by Monday night, according to the National Weather Service in Corpus Christi.

A number of watches and warnings were expected to remain in effect until Tuesday evening, including a Tropical Storm Watch/Warning, Storm Surge Warning, Coastal Flood Warning and a Flash Flood Watch.

The weather service predicted total rainfall amounts between 1 to 6 inches across South Texas through Wednesday. The heaviest totals, up to 10 inches, were expected across the northern coastal bend and Victoria Crossroads.

Parts of North Beach were flooded early Monday morning.

The north gate at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi was closed on Monday due to coastal flooding along Ocean Drive.

Coastal flooding also was reported in Rockport and Seadrift.

The potential for storm surges had many other coastal communities preparing.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday issued a disaster declaration for 29 Texas counties, including Aransas, Bee, Jim Wells, Kleberg, Nueces, Refugio and San Patricio.

In a news release, Abbott urged Texans to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions to stay safe from flooding, storm surge, and other impacts of the tropical storm.

On Saturday, the city of Galveston issued a voluntary evacuation of the areas west of the seawall and low-lying areas of the inland in response to high tides and rainfall.

Port Aransas closed its beaches to vehicular access until further notice. Mayor Charles Bujan issued declaration of disaster on Saturday, Sept. 19.

Counties covered in disaster declaration

• Aransas
• Bee
• Bexar
• Brazoria
• Calhoun
• Chambers
• Fort Bend
• Galveston
• Hardin
• Harris
• Jackson
• Jasper
• Jefferson
• Jim Wells
• Kenedy
• Kleberg
• Liberty
• Live Oak
• Matagorda
• Nueces
• Orange
• Refugio
• Sabine
• San Augustine
• San Patricio
• Shelby
• Travis
• Victoria
• Wharton

Read more

More: Tropical Storm Beta heads toward Texas coast; Track the path of the latest storm

More: Tropical Storm Beta: Live updates on storm coverage for the Corpus Christi-area

Ashlee Burns covers trending and breaking news in South Texas. See our subscription options and special offers at Caller.com/subscribe

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