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Since Tuesday, several U.S. coastal regions have been placed under a watch as “Bertha” approaches, bringing strong winds and heavy rain. Bertha is expected to bring tropical storm conditions to parts of the Gulf Coast, from the Florida Panhandle westward to southeastern Louisiana, including the New Orleans metropolitan area. Early Wednesday morning, the storm’s center was located about 235 kilometers west-southwest of Panama City, Florida, and 120 kilometers east of the mouth of the Mississippi River. It was moving westward at a speed of 9 kilometers per hour, with maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center, based in Miami. A coastal flood warning is in effect for the coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana, where moderate coastal flooding is expected.
Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. In June, Tropical Storm Arthur brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern United States.
A Below-Average Season
According to Météo France, forecasts for cyclonic activity in the Atlantic basin, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico indicate a lower number of cyclonic events than the 1991–2020 normal and the average for the past 10 years, but with the risk of a higher proportion of intense cyclonic events. These hurricane activity forecasts for 2026 are fairly comparable to what was observed in 2025 across the entire basin. In 2025, 13 cyclonic events were observed (8 tropical storms, 5 hurricanes, including 4 major hurricanes) throughout the season and across the entire Atlantic basin. This did not prevent Melissa (JSB1638)—one of the most powerful major hurricanes ever observed in the basin—from forming at the end of the hurricane season and striking Jamaica with devastating force.
