Beta weakens to tropical depression, stalls over Texas coast

HOUSTON — Beta weakened to a tropical depression Tuesday as it parked itself over the Texas coast, raising concerns of extensive flooding in Houston and areas farther inland.

Beta, which made landfall late Monday as a tropical storm just north of Port O’Connor, is the first storm named for a Greek letter to make landfall in the continental United States. Forecasters ran out of traditional storm names last week, forcing the use of the Greek alphabet for only the second time since the 1950s.

By Tuesday afternoon, Beta was 40 miles north of Port O’Connor with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The storm was moving east-northeast at 5 mph and was expected to crawl inland along the coast over Texas through Wednesday.

The National Hurricane Center said parts of the Houston area had seen up to 14 inches of rain by Tuesday afternoon. One area in Brazoria County, south of Houston along the coast, received nearly 18 inches of rain in the last two days.

Street flooding was reported in parts of the Houston area. Fire Chief Samuel Peña said first responders had done nearly 100 water rescues on city roadways since Monday evening.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said there were preliminary reports of some home flooding along a creek south of Houston.

Both Hidalgo, the top elected official in Harris County, and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner urged residents to stay home and off the roads. About 70 barricades had been placed throughout the city in high water areas.

“Your sedan is not a submarine. Your minivan is not magical. So stay off the roads right now,” Hidalgo said. “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.”

Houston-area officials worried additional rainfall Tuesday evening and Wednesday on already saturated ground and waterways could result in more flooding.