SerpApi.Org
A weakened Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall Wednesday afternoon on the Louisiana coast.
The storm made landfall at St. Bernard Parish just after 3 p.m. ET, about 40 miles east of downtown New Orleans, according to the National Hurricane Center. Maximum sustained winds were about 45 mph, with higher gusts, the NHC said.
There were no immediate reports of damage.
The National Hurricane Center had reported a few hours earlier that Bertha was approaching the Louisiana coast, moving west-northwest at 7 mph.
The tropical storm, the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, had been forecast to weaken on Wednesday as it moves slowly west, skirting the Gulf Coast.
Tropical storm warnings are in effect Wednesday from the Alabama-Florida border to Morgan City, Louisiana, according to the NHC. Metropolitan New Orleans, including Lake Pontchartrain, is also under a tropical storm warning.
Panama City, Florida, recorded a tropical storm gust of 40 mph overnight, despite Bertha's eye being 90 miles away in the Gulf.
Bertha's landfall comes amid dangerous heat in the New Orleans area, where the heat index, or what the temperature feels like with humidity, is expected to climb to 115 degrees on Wednesday
Up to 4 inches of rain is possible along the Louisiana coast, with the heaviest precipitation south of New Orleans.
A storm surge of between 1 and 3 feet is possible in the northern Gulf.
New Orleans residents were preparing for Bertha's arrival by fortifying their properties with sandbags, and many boat owners in the region moved their vessels out of docks located along the coast to safer locations.
On Wednesday morning, Pensacola Bay, Florida, reported around 2 feet of storm surge, leading to minor flooding issues in typically flood-prone areas. Similar minor coastal flooding is possible in southern Alabama, including Mobile Bay, on Wednesday.
Bertha is creating a high risk of deadly rip currents along the Gulf Coast from southwest Florida to Louisiana. Surf of 8 to 11 feet is possible from the western Florida panhandle through southern Alabama.
Tropical Storm Bertha closing in on the Gulf CoastTropical storm winds of more than 40 mph are possible in parts of southern Louisiana on Wednesday night.
A tropical storm is defined as a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39 mph to 73 mph.
When Bertha or its remnants reach west Texas Thursday evening and into Friday, very little is forecast to remain other than light rain and breezy conditions.
