Tropical Storm Bertha is slowly organizing in the northeastern Gulf, where it is expected to bring several days of heavy rain, gusty winds and coastal flooding to parts of the Gulf Coast from Florida to Louisiana.
Bertha may have earned a name, but it still isn’t a well-organized tropical cyclone. Most of its strongest thunderstorms remain confined to the southern half of the circulation, while dry air continues to disrupt development despite fuel from near-record warm Gulf water.
It’s the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which has gotten off to a slow start compared to recent years as El Niño tightens its grip on parts of the basin.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts a lower-than-average number of named systems in the Atlantic this season because of it.
Bertha will most likely track along the Gulf Coast and make landfall by late Wednesday night as a weak tropical storm near southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi.
