Hurricane Beryl’s landfall in Texas on Monday morning as a Category 1 Hurricane is causing all kinds of travel issues for a group of Minnesotans trying to get out of the state.
As of late Monday morning, Dr. Nneka Sederstrom, who traveled to Texas last week with her young daughter for a national dance competition in Galveston, said flights back to Minneapolis had been rescheduled and rebooked at least six times.
“It’s been lots of rain and gusty winds, anywhere between 30 to 40 mile per hour winds,” Sederstrom told WCCO Radio. “Around 10 a.m. it escalated to significant winds, and even more rain.”
Sederstrom flew to Texas on the Fourth of July with her daughter’s competition set for the following day. The group that went down kept a close eye on the storm’s path, but have now been left seemingly stranded in the state.
“We weren’t really sure if it would hit the coastal area close to Galveston,” added Sederstrom. “Her competition day was Friday, so if the hurricane hit, it was likely going to hit on Monday. We figured if it was coming our way, we could get down there and get her through her first dance competition. We were sure the competition company would pay attention to the weather and let us know early to give us enough time to come home.”
Aside from a smaller hurricane she experienced while living in Washington D.C., Hurricane Beryl is a first for Sederstrom.
“I’m originally from Alabama, so it just reminds me of tornado weather. This is a legit hurricane and my first time experiencing this. I’m really glad we left Galveston early and drove up to Houston on Sunday to check into a hotel room. I know many of the moms still stuck in Galveston are having a really hard time. We’ve been texting and hopefully, their phones stay alive because none of them have power.”
Sederstrom was holding out hope that they could get a flight to Utah later Monday afternoon, which would then connect them with a flight scheduled to land in the Twin Cities early Tuesday morning.