Overview
- Bertha is moving slowly west near the northern Gulf Coast and is forecast to make landfall in southeastern Louisiana Wednesday, with tropical storm conditions already spreading across warning areas from the Florida Panhandle into coastal Louisiana.
- National Hurricane Center watches and warnings cover a wide stretch from the Florida Panhandle west into southeastern Louisiana and include storm surge watches for parts of the central Gulf Coast.
- Forecasters expect several inches of rain commonly in the 1–4 or 2–4 inch range with isolated 6–8 inch totals, and storm surge of roughly 2–4 feet in low-lying areas, creating risks of flash flooding in urban zones and coastal inundation.
- Environmental dry air, moderate to strong wind shear and the storm’s asymmetric circulation are likely to limit intensification and could weaken or disrupt Bertha after any land interaction, though its slow motion could prolong impacts where the heaviest rain and surge occur.
- Energy companies and local officials have taken precautions, with Chevron temporarily shutting in Gulf platforms and moving personnel onshore, and communities preparing sandbags and warnings as the system may later track west toward Texas if it survives coastal passage.