Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday afternoon and continued moving west toward Texas, bringing gusty winds and storm surge to the Gulf Coast. The storm weakened as it moved inland, with forecasters predicting it would dissipate in Texas by Friday.
Bertha came ashore in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, about 40 miles east of New Orleans. By Thursday morning, it was situated southwest of New Orleans and moving west at 12 mph with sustained winds of 45 mph. Tropical storm-force winds extended up to 160 miles from the storm's center. In Florida, a Waffle House sign was reportedly blown onto a car in Panama City Beach.
Coastal areas from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi saw beaches closed in advance of the storm. In Louisiana, low-lying roads were affected, and a tropical storm warning was issued for areas including New Orleans. Residents in some parts of the state experienced both tropical storm conditions and extreme heat warnings simultaneously, a rare combination not seen in the region in at least two decades.
Forecasters predicted storm surges of up to 3 feet in Louisiana and Alabama, with rainfall totals between 1 and 4 inches. However, the heaviest rain was expected to stay offshore, mitigating the risk of widespread flooding. Louisiana State Climatologist Jay Grymes indicated that the impact was likely to be manageable for coastal communities and that widespread damage was unlikely.
Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, following Tropical Storm Arthur in June. The storm's path brought it near coastal Mississippi, which is still recovering from flooding caused by Arthur.
Elsewhere, a separate weather system on Tuesday generated tornadoes from Cincinnati to New Jersey, causing flash floods, home inundation, and water rescues in West Virginia.
In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto was churning hundreds of miles from land with sustained winds of 80 mph. Fausto was forecast to strengthen gradually, and its swells were expected to cause dangerous surf and rip currents along the Baja California coast.