By TJJD Communications

Texans are urged to make final preparations in advance of the Tropical Storm Beryl likely strengthening to a hurricane and making landfall along the central Texas coast sometime early Monday.

Acting Governor Dan Patrick announced Saturday that he had added 81 counties to the state’s Hurricane Beryl Disaster Declaration as storm forecasts shifted the expect landfall to the north and east of previous projections, according to a news release from the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM).

“Beryl is a determined storm, and incoming winds and potential flooding will pose a serious threat to Texans who are in Beryl’s path at landfall and as it makes its way across the state for the following 24 hours,” said Patrick, who’s acting as governor with Gov. Greg Abbott overseas on an Asian economic mission.

“Based on the current forecast, heavy rain and some localized flooding could occur all the way from the coast through areas near College Station, Tyler, and Texarkana as the storm moves through Texas on its current track,” he said.

Patrick noted that the storm track could still shift over the next 40 hours and urged Texans to stay informed, prepare today and tomorrow and listen to the advice of local officials.

Also on Saturday, the National Weather Service was warning about high winds associated with the storm's arrival late Sunday through Monday, and storm surge inundation, specifically along the coast from the North entrance to the Padre Island National Seashore to the San Luis Pass.

Texans can find current storm information at the TDEM Beryl information page or the Texas Hurricane Center.

The 81 Texas counties added to the Disaster Declaration on Saturday include Anderson, Angelina, Austin, Bastrop, Bell, Bowie, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Caldwell, Camp, Cass, Chambers, Cherokee, Collin, Colorado, Comal, Dallas, Delta, Ellis, Falls, Fannin, Fayette, Fort Bend, Franklin, Freestone, Galveston, Grayson, Gregg, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Harrison, Hays, Henderson, Hill, Hopkins, Houston, Hunt, Jasper, Jefferson, Kaufman, Lamar, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Madison, Marion, McLennan, Milam, Montgomery, Morris, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Newton, Orange, Panola, Polk, Rains, Red River, Robertson, Rockwall, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Titus, Travis, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Walker, Waller, Washington, Williamson, and Wood counties. Additional counties may be added as conditions warrant.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Tropical Storm Beryl is expected to intensify as it moves northwest through the Gulf of Mexico, before it takes a northerly turn to make landfall along the mid-Texas coast as a hurricane on Monday.

The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) increased the readiness level of the State Emergency Operations Center as of 10 a.m. Friday and Texas Emergency Management Council agencies are working 24-hour operations, while also continuing to pre-position state emergency response resources that were readied for deployment earlier.

Texas currently has more than 2,000 responders and 850 assets rostered and deployed in support of the state’s response to anticipated impacts from Hurricane Beryl.