Power outages are increasing along the Texas coast after Barry made landfall on Monday and struck Houston with heavy rain and strong winds as the storm moved inland.

According to CenterPoint Energy in Houston, more than a million homes and businesses were without electricity for hours after Barry came ashore. Rising waters quickly began to close streets across Houston, and flood warnings were in effect across a wide area of the Texas coast.

The National Weather Service predicted that Barry would weaken to a tropical storm on Monday and a tropical depression on Tuesday, forecasting its turn to the northeast and an increase in speed late Monday and Tuesday. The storm reached the United States after leaving destruction over the past week in Mexico and the Caribbean.

The storm's center made landfall as a category 1 hurricane around 4 AM about 85 miles southwest of Houston, with maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour (128.7 km/h) as it moved north at 12 miles per hour (19.3 km/h), according to the National Weather Service. By Monday morning, the storm's maximum sustained wind speed was 75 miles per hour (120 km/h).

Rising waters quickly began to close roads around Houston, which was once again under flood warnings following recent severe storms that washed out neighborhoods and caused power outages across the fourth-largest city in the country.

More than 1,000 flights were canceled at Houston airports, according to tracking data from FlightAware.

Barry dumped heavy rain across Houston after making landfall and was expected to bring destructive winds to East Texas, near Louisiana, as the storm moved north after landing.

Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center, said, "Barry is moving inland, but this is not the end of the story yet."
Barry regained strength and became a hurricane again late Sunday. The storm had weakened after leaving a path of deadly destruction across parts of Mexico and the Caribbean.

The center reported that a hurricane warning was still in effect for the Texas coast from the mouth of the Sabine River north to Port Bolivar.

The weather center indicated that the storm's center was expected to move over East Texas on Monday and then across the lower Mississippi Valley to the Ohio Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday.

People along the Texas coast boarded up windows and left beach towns under evacuation orders. As the storm approached the coast on Sunday, officials in Texas warned of power outages and flooding but also expressed concern over not enough residents and tourists on the beach in Barry's path responding to warnings to leave.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who is serving as acting governor while Governor Greg Abbott is out of the country, said, "One thing that concerns us a little bit is that we looked at all the routes leaving the coast, and the maps are still green. "So we’re not seeing a lot of people leaving."

The storm's tropical storm-force winds extended 115 miles (185 kilometers) from the center, and the hurricane center warned residents to prepare for potential flash flooding in parts of Central and East Texas as well as Arkansas as the storm gradually turned north and then northeast later on Monday.

Along the Texas coast, many residents and business owners took usual storm precautions but also expressed uncertainty about the storm's intensity.

In Port Lavaca, Jimmy May secured plywood over the windows of his electrical supply business and said he wasn't too worried about the potential storm. He recalled that his business survived flooding in a previous hurricane that brought a 20-foot (six-meter) storm surge.

He said, "In the city, you know, if you're in low-lying areas, obviously you need to get out of there."

At a nearby marina, Percy Roberts showed his neighbor Ken Waller how to properly secure his boat as strong winds from the Gulf blew in on Sunday evening.

Waller said, "This will actually be my first hurricane," noting that he was a bit nervous but felt secure following Roberts’ lead. "Pray for the best but prepare for the worst."

The storm Barry was the first storm to reach hurricane status as a category five in the Atlantic and resulted in at least 11 fatalities as it passed through the Caribbean on its way to Texas. The storm caused doors, windows, and roofs to be blown away due to the destructive winds and severe storms fueled by record Atlantic Ocean heat.

Over the course of its week-long lifespan, Barry gained wind speeds of 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) in 24 hours or less, the official definition for rapid intensification according to the National Weather Service.

Experts noted that Barry's unprecedented rapid growth into an early storm indicates warm waters in the Atlantic and Caribbean and what could be expected from the Atlantic hurricane belt for the remainder of storm season.

Officials in Texas warned people along the entire coast to prepare for potential flooding, heavy rainfall, and winds. The hurricane warning extended from the mouth of the Brazos River, south of Corpus Christi, to Sargent, south of Houston.

Barry represented yet another potential event for heavy rainfall in Houston, where storms in recent months have caused widespread power outages and flooding in the fourth-largest city in the country. There was a flash flood warning in effect for a large area of the Texas coast, where forecasters expected Barry to drop up to 10 inches (25 cm) of rain in some areas.

The weather service projected storm surges could rise between four and seven feet (1.22 and 2.13 meters) above the ground around Matagorda. The warnings extended to the same coastal areas where Hurricane Harvey made landfall in 2017 as a category four hurricane, significantly stronger than the intensity Barry was expected to have by the time the storm made landfall.

Those looking to catch a flight out of the area found the window for air travel closing as Barry approached. Hundreds of flights at Houston's two major commercial airports were delayed by mid-afternoon Sunday, with dozens of others canceled, according to FlightAware data.

In Corpus Christi, officials requested that visitors cut their trips short and return home early if possible. Residents were advised to secure their homes by closing windows if necessary and using sandbags to protect against potential flooding.

The White House said on Sunday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had sent emergency responders, search and rescue teams, bottled water, and other resources along the coast.

Several coastal counties issued voluntary evacuations in low-lying flood-prone areas. Local officials also banned beach camping and urged holiday travelers for the Fourth of July to move recreational vehicles from coastal parks.

Barry struck Mexico as a category 2 hurricane last week, downing trees but causing no injuries or fatalities before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatan Peninsula.

Before hitting Mexico, Barry wreaked havoc in Jamaica, Barbados, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines. Reports indicated three fatalities in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela, and two in Jamaica.