The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Bertha is strengthening in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. It is slowly moving towards the southeastern coast of Louisiana, with maximum sustained winds at 60 miles per hour.
The National Hurricane Center’s latest forecast calls for the storm to make landfall as a tropical storm Wednesday night in southeast Louisiana. National Weather Service Meteorologist Jacob Zeringue says there are two main threats with Bertha.
“The biggest threat is going to be storm surge. We’ll see up to 2-4 feet of inundation on the eastern-facing shores; and then also tropical storm-force wind gusts, starting as early as Wednesday morning and lasting throughout the day on Wednesday,” Zeringue explained.
Rainfall amounts associated with Bertha will be limited to less than one inch for much of south Louisiana.
Zeringue says tropical storm-force winds are not expected to extend too far north from the coast.
“It looks like it will mainly be confined to south of the I-10 corridor; so New Orleans and points southward towards the bayou parishes have the higher likelihood of seeing those tropical storm-force wind gusts tomorrow,” Zeringue said.
State Climatologist Jay Grymes says Bertha is a lopsided storm so its stronger winds and heavier rain bands could remain over the Gulf, which means Louisiana may not receive the worst that Bertha has to offer.
“A lot of wind shear on the north and northeastern side that’s helping to make this look lopsided with more of the convection, more of the thunderstorm activity around the southern half of the circulation,” Grymes explained.
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