- Tropical Storm Bertha formed Monday evening in the Gulf of Mexico , south of the Florida Panhandle, and is erratically moving toward populated coastal areas, marking the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
- Bertha is forecast to make landfall Wednesday night in a lightly populated part of Louisiana southeast of New Orleans, with wind being the biggest threat, according to Michael Buchanan, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Louisiana.
- Bertha, currently about 140 miles south of Panama City, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, is expected to strengthen and linger near the coast for days, increasing the risk of prolonged heavy rain, flash flooding, and coastal inundation from Florida to Louisiana, eventually drifting west toward Texas.
- A tropical storm warning is in effect from the Alabama-Florida border west to southeastern Louisiana, with a storm surge watch extending from the Mississippi River mouth to the Alabama-Florida border, warning of life-threatening storm surge up to 4 feet in parts of Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida, and potential isolated tornadoes in Florida's Big Bend.
- Communities along the Gulf Coast are preparing for Bertha's impact, with red flags flying in Orange Beach, Alabama, to warn swimmers of dangerous surf, and residents in Florida's Escambia County filling sandbags in flood-prone areas.
IN FULL
Beaches closed and sandbags filled as Tropical Storm Bertha approaches the Gulf Coast
