Hurricane Beryl pummels southeast Texas as Category 1 storm

MATAGORDA, Texas (NewsNation) — Hurricane Beryl made its way across Texas on Monday morning after making landfall in Matagorda as a Category 1 storm, picking up speed and strength with about 80 mph winds.

As of 7 a.m. Central time, the hurricane had sustained winds of 75 mph and was projected to move up along eastern Texas through Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Texas officials issued preemptive disaster declarations for 121 counties along with evacuation orders for some areas. Officials also warned of dangerous storm surges and flash flooding along Texas' southern coast.

The storm’s center hit land as a Category 1 hurricane around 4 a.m. about 85 miles southwest of Houston with top sustained winds of 80 mph while moving north at 12 mph, the National Weather Service reported.