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Tropical Storm Bertha continued its slog toward the Gulf Coast, forecasters from the National Hurricane Center said, and remained on track to bring heavy rain, storm surge and gusty winds to several states in the area.
As of a 2 p.m. ET update from the hurricane center, "tropical storm conditions were spreading over portions of the Florida Panhandle."
Bertha, the second storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, was expected to continue moving west, but the "forecast track and intensity remain highly uncertain," the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio warned July 21.
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The potential for flooding rain is what worries forecasters most: Bertha "is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches with isolated higher totals around 6 inches through Friday along the Gulf Coast and adjacent inland locations from western Florida to the Middle Texas Coast, including southern portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana," the hurricane center said.
"This rainfall may produce areas of flash flooding, especially in urban areas."
Where is Tropical Storm Bertha?
As of 2 p.m. ET July 21, Bertha's center was 90 miles southwest of Panama City, Florida, and was moving northwest at 5 mph.
The storm was whipping up maximum sustained winds of 60 mph with higher gusts, the hurricane center said in a midday update. "Bertha has become slightly better organized this morning," the hurricane center said. Looking ahead, "little change in strength is expected today, followed by gradual weakening through the middle of this week."
Bertha stirs up the Gulf
Wind and seas were being stirred up along the storm’s path in the Gulf on the afternoon of July 21.
Afternoon high tides along the Florida Panhandle coast were up to a foot above high tides measured on July 20, including at Panama City Beach and Apalachicola, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tidal gauge information.
Stations along and off the coast between Orange Beach, Alabama, and Apalachicola, Florida, reported wind gusts over 40 mph. A marine station at Alligator Point, south of Tallahassee, measured a wind gust of up to 57 mph just before 3:30 p.m. ET on July 21, according to the National Weather Service in Tallahassee.
Wave heights had reached 14 feet at a buoy about 100 miles south of Panama City.
– Dinah Voyles Pulver
Other threats from Bertha
In addition to rainfall, Bertha could bring high winds, storm surge, rough surf and rip currents.
Tropical storm conditions − meaning winds of at least 39 mph − were expected within the warning area along the northern Gulf Coast into Wednesday, July 22, the hurricane center said.
The combination of storm surge and tide could flood normally dry areas near the immediate coast and inland from the shoreline. The highest inundation, up to 4 feet, was possible from the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana to the Alabama-Florida border, the hurricane center said.
High surf will also be a concern: "Swells generated by Bertha are affecting portions of Florida and will spread westward along the northern Gulf Coast during the week. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions," the hurricane center said.
Will Tropical Storm Bertha become a hurricane?
Though Bertha was strengthening, forecasters did not predict it would become a hurricane as it continued to battle wind shear.
The wind shear is likely to give the cyclone an asymmetric structure, with the bulk of rainfall and much of the wind expected on the southern side of the storm center, the hurricane center said.
"Overall, Bertha is a low-grade tropical threat to North Florida and the Central Gulf Coast, and overall won’t be much different from a normal summer mix of sun and rain away from the immediate coast," Ryan Truchelut, chief meteorologist at WeatherTiger, who works with the USA TODAY Network, told the Tallahassee Democrat.
New Orleans under a tropical storm watch
The National Hurricane Center expanded tropical storm watches July 21 to include metropolitan New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas as Tropical Storm Bertha moves across the northern Gulf.
Tropical storm conditions are possible in the New Orleans area by late July 21 into July 22, according to the hurricane center.
However, disruptive wind shear is expected to increase overnight on July 21 and into July 22, said the National Weather Service office in New Orleans. Those winds are likely to cause Bertha to weaken, and keep the heaviest rain well to the south and southwest of the New Orleans region, the weather service said.
– Brandi D. Addison and Dinah Voyles Pulver
Bertha slightly 'behind schedule'
Bertha is only slightly behind schedule in terms of when the second storm of the year usually forms: On average over the past 30 years, the second named storm of the season has formed on July 17th in the Atlantic basin, said WPLG-TV hurricane specialist Michael Lowry in an e-mail to USA TODAY.
'Very sad:' Bertha washes hundreds of baby turtles out to sea
In Florida, hundreds of baby turtles were washed out to sea by Bertha's wind and waves.
On St. George Island, a Gulf barrier island southwest of Tallahassee, for more than 12 hours during Tropical Storm Bertha's heavy rain and wind, conservationists, vacationers and locals banded together to scour the island's coastline for baby sea turtles who were washed away by the storm.
Kimberly Crossen, the president of St. George Island Sea Turtle Patrol, said the extreme storm surge from the low-grade tropical storm was a shock to her and other volunteers, and they immediately did their best to survey the nests that were impacted and save baby sea turtles who just hatched but didn't make it out to sea.
"It's very sad," Crossen said. "We were set up for what could have been a record season, and now, we have lost so many."
Prior to the storm, Crossen said there were 337 sea turtle nests, and 214 were impacted by the July 20 high tides. She said she guesses there are maybe 50 nests that are still viable, but she won't know for sure until they hatch or she checks them 70 days after they were laid.
– Elena Barrera, The Tallahassee Democrat
A bounty of Berthas
If you think you've heard the name Bertha during hurricane seasons before, you're right: This is the ninth time the name Bertha has been used for a tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin since the first one in 1957. That includes five tropical storms and four hurricanes.
To date, none of the storms have been devastating enough to warrant having their names retired. If forecasts are accurate, the current Bertha will continue that trend and we'll see the name again in six years, in the 2032 hurricane season.
Hurricane safety tips
Though Bertha wasn't expected to reach hurricane status, it's still a good time to review hurricane safety tips. According to the National Weather Service, the two biggest hurricane killers are storm surge and inland flooding, so it's a good idea to "know your evacuation zone, heed evacuation orders, and never drive through flooded roads."
In addition, the NOAA advises folks to gather an emergency kit: "Have at least three days of water (1 gallon per person per day), nonperishable food, medications, flashlights, batteries, cash, and a battery-powered or hand-crank weather radio."
Also, NOAA advises people to have multiple ways to receive warnings and not rely solely on their phones, such as weather radios, emergency alerts, TV, radio and trusted weather apps.
'Deafening crickets' across the Atlantic
Other than Bertha, the "Atlantic appears closed for business for the rest of the month," said Lowry, calling the current pattern "deafening crickets."
"We'll keep an eye to the subtropics this season (like the zone in the Gulf where Bertha formed), but for now, we're not seeing any candidates for at least the next few weeks," Lowry said.
Contributing: Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK − Florida
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tropical Storm Bertha bears down on US. Here's where it's heading
