Tropical Storm Bertha formed along the U.S. Gulf Coast on Monday evening. Photo courtesy NOAA
Tropical Storm Bertha strengthened just off the coast of the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday as it made its way west, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm, which isn’t expected to become a hurricane before fizzling out, formed Monday night.
The epicenter of the storm was located about 70 miles south-southwest of Panama City, Fla., and 145 miles southeast of Mobile, Ala., the NHC said in its 10 a.m. CDT update. The storm was traveling north-northwest at 3 mph and had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph.
Winds must reach at least 74 mph for a storm to be considered a hurricane.
There was a tropical storm warning in effect from the Bay/Gulf County line in Florida west to the Terrebonne/Lafourche Parish line in Louisiana. A tropical storm watch was in place from Morgan City, La., to the Vermilion/Cameron Parish line, and metropolitan New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas.
The National Weather Service announced a coastal flooding warning for parts of the Louisiana and Mississippi coastlines.
“On the forecast track, Bertha will move near or along the northern Gulf Coast during the next several days,” the NHC said in its update.
Bertha is expected to maintain tropical storm status through Thursday morning, possibly making landfall on the New Orleans area late Wednesday. It’s forecast to weaken to a tropical depression Thursday evening just south of the western Louisiana coast before making landfall in Texas early Friday.
