Tropical Storm Bertha is bringing rain to large swaths of the northern Gulf Coast Wednesday, as its projected path sparked watches and warnings.
Bertha is in the Gulf of Mexico, crawling westward “with little acceleration,” the National Hurricane Center said. It is expected to impact coastal areas from the Florida Panhandle to Texas.
Map shows projected path
Bertha, the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, is forecast to stick close to the coast. The Miami-based hurricane center said it expects the system to continue gradually weaken as it moves near or along the northern Gulf Coast over the next couple of days.
The storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 50 mph as of the center’s latest update, down 10 mph from Tuesday night.
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Warnings and watches in effect
A tropical storm warning was posted Wednesday from the Okaloosa/Walton County Line in Florida to Morgan City, Louisiana as well as for New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain.
A tropical storm watch was up for the area west of Morgan City, Louisiana, to Sargent, Texas, and for Lake Maurepas in Louisiana.
“Tropical storm conditions will continue spreading across portions of the northern Gulf Coast within the warning area today,” the hurricane center said early Wednesday. “Tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area in Louisiana by tonight and along the upper Texas coast by Thursday or Thursday night.”
The storm “is expected to produce total rainfall amounts of 1 to 4 inches with isolated higher totals to 6 inches through Thursday along the central to the western Gulf Coast from western Florida to southern Texas,” it said. “This rainfall may produce isolated flash flooding, especially in urban areas.”
The system could also produce storm surge, raising waters up to 4 feet in some locations along the coast.
Bertha comes weeks after the 2026 hurricane season’s first named storm, Tropical Storm Arthur, which made landfall in June along the Gulf Coast of Texas.
