Overview
- Bertha, which formed Monday evening, was centered roughly 110 miles south of Panama City on Tuesday with sustained winds reported near 50–60 mph and a slow west-northwest drift of about 3–5 mph.
- The National Hurricane Center has issued tropical storm watches and storm surge watches from the Florida Panhandle west into southeastern Louisiana with tropical storm warnings for parts of Alabama, Mississippi and eastern Louisiana.
- Forecasters expect widespread rainfall of 2–4 inches with isolated totals up to 6–8 inches that could cause flash flooding, and storm surge of about 1–4 feet in vulnerable spots along the northern Gulf Coast.
- Strong upper-level wind shear and dry air have displaced Bertha’s thunderstorms to the south of the center, limiting strengthening and making weakening or dissipation after coastal interaction likely.
- Dangerous marine conditions are already occurring with large swells and life‑threatening rip currents, local officials have opened sandbag sites and closed beaches, and the NHC warns watches could shift westward toward Texas later this week.