Tropical Storm Beryl was “better organized” when it reached the Gulf Coast of Texas on Sunday and was still working to regain hurricane strength before making landfall, meteorologists said.

A hurricane warning has been issued for a long stretch of Texas coastline – from Baffin Bay to San Luis Pass. The storm's outer bands are expected to hit the coast on Sunday, while the storm's center is likely to make landfall early Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Authorities in all coastal counties of the state issued voluntary evacuation orders and urged tourists who were on the beaches on July 4 to leave the beaches as soon as possible.

On Sunday morning, Beryl had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, increasing only slightly from Saturday. However, the National Hurricane Center said the hurricane would continue to strengthen Sunday before making landfall.

When the storm reaches Texas, it will bring with it a life-threatening storm surge. Some areas could experience a storm surge of 6 feet, and in combination
The flood could cause normally dry areas to become flooded.

Beginning Sunday, widespread heavy rainfall totaling 5 to 10 inches will occur across much of the central and upper Texas Gulf Coast.

According to the National Hurricane Center, there could be some tornadoes along the middle and upper Texas coast through Sunday night and in east Texas and western Louisiana on Monday.

The swell caused by the storm could cause life-threatening rip currents on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico for several days after the storm.

Beryl was the first storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic and caused deadly devastation in the southeastern Caribbean. It is blamed for at least 11 deaths in the Leeward Islands and leveled most homes and buildings on several islands.

The storm weakened after making landfall in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Friday as a Category 2 hurricane, but warm waters in the Gulf are giving it the impetus it needs to become a hurricane again.