Weakened Beta stalls over Texas coast

Now a tropical depression, Beta is stalled over the Texas coast, hovering about 40 miles north of Port O'Connor with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Beta made landfall as a tropical storm late Monday night, about five miles north of Port O'Connor. As of Tuesday evening, it is moving east-northeast at 5 mph, and by the end of this week, Beta is expected to move over Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi.

Forecasters are worried there could be extensive flooding in the Houston area, and some parts have already seen up to 14 inches of rain, the National Hurricane Center said. Since Monday evening, fire officials in Houston have conducted nearly 100 water rescues from city roads, The Associated Press reports, and residents are being asked to stay home.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"Your sedan is not a submarine," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said. "Your minivan is not magical. So stay off the roads right now. Your destination is not worth your life. It's not worth the life of the first responder that's going to have to come and rescue you if you drive into high water and are stuck there."