Tropical Storm Beta September 19-22, 2020
Tropical Storm Beta was a slow moving storm that impacted the entire Texas coast in some fashion. Follow along to learn more.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) began to monitor what was to become Beta on September 16th. By the 17th, the invest had developed a closed center of circulation and sufficiently sustained wind speeds to be deemed Tropical Depression 22.
About twenty-four hours after becoming a depression, the system strengthened into Tropical Storm Beta. Beta was forecast to move toward the northeast for a couple days and then begin a shift to the west while slowly strengthening into a hurricane. Thanks to dry air intrusion and moderate to strong wind shear aloft, Beta was never able to reach hurricane strength.
As Beta approached a stationary front in the central Gulf of Mexico around the 19th, weak steering flow caused Beta to slow and become nearly stationary for the next couple of days. Beta slowly drifted west towards the Texas coast, eventually making landfall along the southern end of the Matagorda Peninsula (5 miles north of Port O'Connor). The system meandered along the coast for sometime before exiting to the northeast.
During landfall, the heaviest rain bands trained through the Houston metro area leading to devastating flooding from Houston to Galveston. The majority of the heavy rain fell to the north of South Texas; however, a rain band tracked around the center of the storm, over Matagorda Bay and the Victoria Crossroads. This led to portions of the Victoria Crossroads receiving up to 10" of rain (see the radar section below for more on the rainfall totals).
2020 has been a very active season. As of the beginning of October 2020, there have been 25 named systems; 9 of these systems became hurricanes and 3 of the hurricanes strengthened into major hurricanes (category 3 or stronger). This season is also only the second time that the NHC has had to use the Greek alphabet after using all 22 names originally slated for this year. The only other season that the Greek alphabet was utilized was 2005 which saw 27 named tropical systems.
Tropical Storm Beta made a contribution to the plethora of broken records this year. Tropical Storm Beta etched its name into the record book by becoming the first tropical cyclone from the Greek alphabet to make landfall in the continental United States or any of its territories. There was some question about the use of Greek names in previous years. In 1972, Tropical Storm Alpha threatened the Southeastern United States; however, during that year Alpha was used as a phonetic name for quasi-tropical cyclones such as large sub-tropical storms and neutercanes (small circular hybrid cyclones) and was, therefore, not a Greek-named system. Furthermore, when the system crossed the Florida Peninsula in 1972, it was a tropical depression, becoming a tropical storm once it resurfaced in the Atlantic. In 1973, the NHC discontinued using the phonetic names for quasi-tropical cyclones and the name "Alpha" wasn't used again until 2005 as part of the Greek alphabet.
Radar
Beta had a very ragged radar display, though the center of circulation can be clearly seen at times. Waves of showers and occasional thunderstorms moved through much of South Texas during the day on September 21st.
Overnight from the 21st into the 22nd, a persistent area of heavy rain set up in Victoria county where 3-7" of rain fell across much of the county with a pocket of as much as 8-10" near the town of Inez.
24 Hour Rainfall ending 7AM Sept 22
Flooding in Inez
Ocelot Road washed out in Inez due to heavy rainfall
Other portions of the Coastal Bend received up to 2 inches of rain. Much higher amounts occurred farther to the northeast.
72 Hour Rainfall ending 7AM Sept 23
Storm Surge
Coinciding with a naturally higher tide period around the vernal equinox, TS Beta set the stage for a long duration coastal flooding event along the Middle Texas coast. Tides were already running high as a result of persistent northeasterly flow associated with the disturbance (eventually TS Beta) in the Western Gulf. As the system became more organized and lifted northward by Saturday, beaches became inundated with increasing water levels.
Inundation of 2 to 4 feet was noted throughout the Middle Texas coast and within the bays.
Effects were seen fairly early into the event. Beta was several hundred miles away from the Middle Texas coast and we were experiencing tidal run with water passing the dunes at times. Below is a video of the surge at Whitecap Beach. If this beach looks familiar, it's because there was significant storm surge here during Hurricane Hanna
Whitecap Beach Surge From Tropical Storm Beta
Water approaching FM 136 Southbound near Bayside.
Debris line due to storm surge in Port Lavaca
Satellite
Tropical Storm Beta's satellite appearance became more organized as the system approached the Middle Texas coast. Throughout it's life cycle, Beta had to fight through dry air aloft and increasing wind shear attempting to hinder development.
The full life-cycle of Tropical Storm Beta.
Thanks to Dr. Kimberly Wood from Mississippi State University for the satellite animation.
Ultimately, Tropical Storm Bets made landfall on the southern end of the Matagorda Peninsula, roughly 5 miles north of Port O'Connor.
In the graph to the left, you can see the change in wind speed and direction as Beta's center moved over the Port O'Connor observation site. Strong northerly winds can be seen leading up to landfall, with a short drop off as the center moved inland. Southerly winds then kicked in as Beta shifted north after landfall.
See the image below for a list of local storm reports throughout the event.
As always, for the latest forecast information, visit: https://www.weather.gov/crp/
Local Storm Reports during Tropical Storm Beta
