Much of Texas’ shoreline was under a hurricane warning and landfall was expected early Monday.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Texans on the coast are preparing for Beryl, which is expected to strengthen to a hurricane by the time it makes landfall, including a National Weather Service meteorologist whose front door is going viral online.
Tyler Castillo, lead meteorologist for NWS Corpus Christi posted a video of his front door on X, which has garnered millions of views in under 24 hours.
“Can’t be too safe. Making sure the house is secure before #Beryl arrives,” Castillo said in the post.
A large majority of the social reaction compared his front door security to something you’d see in the Purge movie series. Castillo even addressed that in two follow-up tweets explaining his set-up.
“2 things I’ve learned from this tweet 1) people love the purge, 2) people assume that if the power goes out, that there is absolutely no way at all to open the door. I’m trapped inside (or outside) forever,” Castillo said .
“Feel like it’s time to answer some questions here: 1) There’s a manual option to open it 2) Back door is still open. Front side would be taking on the wind 3) Not sure about the $$. They were on the house when I bought it. Big selling point for me. 4) I’ve never seen The Purge,” Castillo added.
Much of Texas’ shoreline was under a hurricane warning and landfall was expected early Monday. Officials in several coastal counties urged tourists along the beach for the Fourth of the July holiday to leave.
Beryl would be the 10th hurricane to hit Texas in July since 1851 and the fourth in the last 25 years, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
Texas officials warned people along the entire coastline to prepare for possible flooding, heavy rain and wind. The hurricane warning extended fom Baffin Bay, south of Corpus Christi, to Sargent, south of Houston.
In Corpus Christi, officials asked visitors to cut their trips short and return home early if possible. Residents were advised to secure homes by boarding up windows if necessary and using sandbags to guard against possible flooding.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is traveling in Taiwan, issued a preemptive disaster declaration for 121 counties.
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