SerpApi.Org
A developing tropical storm system is strengthening along the Gulf Coast.
The National Hurricane Center(NHC) forecasts that Tropical Storm Bertha will move toward the northern Gulf Coast within the next few days, bringing heavy rain and coastal flooding to parts of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
In a 10 a.m. update, the NHC said the storm's maximum sustained winds have increased to 60 mph. Currently it's tracked to about 70 miles south-southwest of Panama City, Florida, and moving at 3 mph northwest.
- Scientists' plan to stop rare El Niño heatwave may trigger unstoppable horror
- Child using computer electrocuted after lightning strikes house
Tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 90 miles from the center.
Bertha is forecast to bring 2 to 4 inches of rain, with isolated higher totals near 6 inches through Thursday along the Gulf Coast and in inland areas from western Florida into southern Louisiana, including southern portions of Alabama and Mississippi.
The rainfall could lead to dangerous flash flooding, especially in urban areas.
The NHC cautioned that storm surges could be the most dangerous effect of Bertha.
A Storm Surge Watch is currently in effect from the Alabama-Florida border westward to the mouth of the Mississippi River. The agency says there is the possibility of "life-threatening inundation" caused by seawater being pushed inland from the coast, Newsweek reports.
The storm surge could raise water levels by 2 to 4 feet above the typically dry ground on the Alabama-Florida border if it coincides with high tide, the outlet reported.
Bertha marks the second named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season.
- Map shows devastating super typhoon barreling towards US islands
- Deadly super typhoon barrels toward US with 173mph winds and blackout threat
- Hurricane-force winds whip through multiple US states sparking travel chaos
Where is Bertha headed?
Forecast models indicate Bertha will remain cradled along the northern Gulf Coast as it moves westward.
"Bertha will move near or along the northern Gulf Coast during the next several days," the Miami-based NHC said.
The NHC forecast track shows the center of the storm will travel to southeastern Louisiana by late Wednesday before eventually shifting westward along the northern Gulf Coast in the latter half of the week
There could be some fluctuations in the path, but so far, the system is expected to approach the Louisiana-Mississippi coast as a tropical storm rather than a hurricane.
