As Tropical Storm Bertha approached, communities along the U.S. Gulf Coast took precautionary measures by distributing sandbags and shutting down beaches. The storm promised to unleash heavy rains and strong winds stretching from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana on Wednesday.
The National Weather Service’s Michael Buchanan indicated that Bertha was expected to make its presence felt by Wednesday night, targeting the sparsely populated coastal area southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. The primary concern associated with Bertha is its powerful winds.
On Wednesday morning, Bertha’s center was located approximately 145 miles (235 kilometers) west-southwest of Panama City, Florida, and 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of the Mississippi River’s mouth. The storm chugged west at 6 mph (9 kph), boasting maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph), according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.
The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning spanning from the boundary between Bay and Gulf counties in Florida to Morgan City, Louisiana, including the New Orleans metropolitan area and Lake Pontchartrain.
Forecasters noted the potential for storm surges to reach up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) in Louisiana between the Mississippi River mouth and the Alabama-Mississippi state line, with smaller surges anticipated in certain areas of Florida and Alabama.
Rain between 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) could fall from western Florida to the southern Louisiana coastline, with higher amounts in scattered areas that could cause flash flooding in urban areas.
Bertha was expected to weaken as it pushes into Texas, forecasters said.
Sandbag distribution sites set up
Authorities in Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida opened sites to provide sandbags to residents while red flag warnings were posted along some beaches advising swimmers about the dangers of rip tides. Up and down the coast, double red flags signaled that Gulf waters were closed for swimming.
Beaches near Pensacola, Florida, were mostly deserted except for tourists taking photos of the pounding surf.
“For locals, this is just another storm,” said Candice Henderson, manager of the Crab Trap, a beachside restaurant that was packed Tuesday on Pensacola’s Perdido Key. “When you’re on vacation and it’s raining, you either shop or you go out to eat.”
Bertha is the second tropical storm of Atlantic season
Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Arthur in June brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern U.S.
Bertha could dump heavy rain on coastal areas of Mississippi that are still recovering from flooding brought by Arthur that destroyed and damaged homes.
“Because of that, people are definitely paying attention, or at least you would hope so,” said Jeff Clark, a spokesperson for Mississippi’s Harrison County, where six sites were open for sandbag distribution.
There had not been a need by Tuesday to open shelters or order evacuations, Clark said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects a below-average Atlantic hurricane season this year, although that doesn’t eliminate the chances of a catastrophic storm.
Hurricane Fausto in the Pacific is far from land
In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned far from land Tuesday. The hurricane was about 805 miles (1,295 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California moving west-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph).
It was forecast to gradually strengthen and the hurricane center warned that ocean swells generated by Fausto could cause life-threatening surf and rip tide conditions on the Baja California coast.
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