Tropical Storm Bertha Forms in Gulf, Prompts Surge Watch and Warnings

Tropical storm warnings are in effect from the Alabama-Florida border westward to the Jefferson-Plaquemines Parish border in Louisiana. A storm surge watch covers the stretch from the Alabama-Florida border to the mouth of the Mississippi River. The National Hurricane Center said a surge of 2 to 4 feet above normally dry ground is possible from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Alabama-Florida border if it coincides with high tide.

The BBC reported a surge of 1 to 4 feet along parts of the Louisiana and Mississippi coastlines. Tropical Storm Bertha formed Monday evening in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico as the second named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season. As of early Tuesday the center was at 28.4 degrees north, 86.1 degrees west, about 125 miles south of Panama City, Florida, the National Hurricane Center said.

Maximum sustained winds measured 50 mph while the storm moved northwest at 2 mph. Watches remain in effect for parts of the Florida Panhandle, metropolitan New Orleans and additional Louisiana coastal sections. Widespread rainfall of 2 to 4 inches is forecast from western Florida to Texas through Friday, with isolated totals up to 8 inches.

Flash flooding is possible in urban and low-lying areas. Isolated tornadoes could occur across Florida's Big Bend and portions of the northern Gulf Coast through Wednesday. Forecasters expect the center to reach southeastern Louisiana by late Wednesday before drifting westward along the northern Gulf Coast.

The storm is projected to remain a tropical storm, weaken to a depression by Thursday and possibly dissipate near the Texas coast by the end of the week. Hurricane Fausto strengthened Monday night about 745 miles southwest of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula with 75 mph winds but poses no immediate coastal threat.