Tropical Storm Bertha expected to weaken as it moves toward US | US weather
Tropical Storm Bertha strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday but was expected to weaken this week as it approaches the U.S., potentially bringing coastal flooding and heavy rain from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said areas along the northern Gulf Coast are under a tropical storm warning through Wednesday and could see rain and flooding through Thursday morning. New Orleans was also under a tropical storm warning.
The storm was about 120 miles (190km) southwest of Panama City, Florida, and 105 miles (170km) southeast of Mobile, Alabama, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a statement on Tuesday evening. The hurricane center said the hurricane was moving westward at 6 mph (9 km/h) with maximum sustained winds around 60 mph (95 km/h). Gradual weakening was expected from Wednesday to Friday.
Bertha is expected to make landfall Wednesday night in a coastal and sparsely populated area of Louisiana southeast of New Orleans, said Michael Buchanan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Louisiana.
Wind will be the biggest threat there, he said.
Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season after Tropical Storm Arthur brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern United States in June.
The storm is expected to linger near or along the northern Gulf coast, dropping heavy rain on coastal areas of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, and move west toward Texas.
Potentially life-threatening storm surges of up to 4 feet were possible in parts of Louisiana, Alabama and Florida, the NHC said, warning that Bertha could spawn an isolated tornado or two in Florida’s Big Bend region.
Areas of flash flooding are also possible along the coast from western Florida to central Texas throughout Friday, forecasters said, adding that rainfall could total 3 inches to 5 inches (7 cm to 12 cm) along the Louisiana coastline, with higher amounts possible in some scattered areas.
Red flags at Alabama’s Orange Beach warned swimmers of high surf and currents. In Florida’s Escambia County, emergency officials offered sand to people living in flood-prone areas to use as sandbags.
Meanwhile, the NHC said Hurricane Fausto formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean well away from Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and posed no threat to land.
Fausto achieved hurricane status Monday night. It was approximately 780 miles (1,260 km) southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, had top sustained winds of 75mph (120 km/h) and was moving northwest at 12mph (19 km/h).
The storm was expected to strengthen on Tuesday and Wednesday. The NHC said no coastal watches or warnings were in effect, although ocean waves caused by the storm caused life-threatening surf and tidal conditions along the Baja California coast.
Protective staff contributed reporting
