Texas officials urged coastal residents to prepare for Tropical Storm Beryl, which is expected to regain hurricane strength as it moves across the Gulf of Mexico.

A hurricane warning was declared for the coast from Baffin Bay to Sargent, and forecasters predicted Beryl would approach Texas on Sunday and make landfall on Monday, potentially as a Category 1 hurricane.

Beryl, the earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, caused 11 deaths in the Caribbean and battered Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane before weakening.

Texas officials warned of possible flooding, heavy rain, and wind, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued a preemptive disaster declaration for 121 counties, the Associated Press reported.

Some coastal cities called for voluntary evacuations and urged tourists to move recreational vehicles. Corpus Christi officials asked visitors to cut trips short and residents to secure homes with sandbags and boarded windows.

Written by B.C. Begley