Landfall and Warnings
Tropical Storm Bertha was forecast to make landfall Wednesday night in the coastal and lightly populated part of Louisiana southeast of New Orleans, with wind as the biggest threat, according to Michael Buchanan, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Louisiana. Early Wednesday, the storm was centered about 145 miles west-southwest of Panama City, Florida, and 75 miles east of the mouth of the Mississippi River. It was moving west at 6 mph with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.[S1][S2]
A tropical storm warning was in effect from the line between Bay and Gulf counties in Florida west to Morgan City, Louisiana, as well as for metropolitan New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. Storm surges up to 4 feet were possible in Louisiana from the Mississippi River mouth to the Alabama-Mississippi state line, with smaller surges in parts of Florida and Alabama. Rain between 2 to 4 inches could fall from western Florida to the southern Louisiana coastline, with higher amounts in scattered areas that could cause flash flooding in urban areas. Bertha was expected to weaken as it pushes into Texas.[S1][S2]
Preparations Underway
Authorities in Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida opened sites to provide sandbags to residents while red flag warnings were posted along some beaches advising swimmers about the dangers of rip tides. Up and down the coast, double red flags signaled that Gulf waters were closed for swimming. Beaches near Pensacola, Florida, were mostly deserted except for tourists taking photos of the pounding surf. “For locals, this is just another storm,” said Candice Henderson, manager of the Crab Trap, a beachside restaurant that was packed Tuesday on Pensacola’s Perdido Key. “When you’re on vacation and it’s raining, you either shop or you go out to eat.”[S1][S2][S4]
Jeff Clark, a spokesperson for Mississippi’s Harrison County, where six sites were open for sandbag distribution, said people are paying attention because of prior flooding. “Because of that, people are definitely paying attention, or at least you would hope so,” Clark said. There had not been a need by Tuesday to open shelters or order evacuations, Clark said.[S1][S3]
Atlantic Season and Pacific Storm
Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Arthur in June brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern U.S. Bertha could dump heavy rain on coastal areas of Mississippi that are still recovering from flooding brought by Arthur that destroyed and damaged homes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects a below-average Atlantic hurricane season this year, although that does not eliminate the chances of a catastrophic storm.[S1][S3]
In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned far from land. The hurricane was about 805 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California moving west-northwest at 9 mph with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. It was forecast to gradually strengthen and the hurricane center warned that ocean swells generated by Fausto could cause life-threatening surf and rip tide conditions on the Baja California coast.[S1]
