Tropical Storm Bertha weakens to tropical depression as all watches, warnings scrapped
Bertha officially weakened to a tropical depression Thursday evening after moving inland across Texas, signaling the end of the system’s brief tropical run as all coastal watches and warnings were lifted.After re-forming over the northern Gulf, Bertha limped across Texas on Thursday, weakening to maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.The National Hurricane Center said the storm is expected to continue weakening and likely dissipate later tonight.Bertha has gradually weakened as it lashed parts of the southwestern Louisiana and Upper Texas coasts with tropical-storm-force winds and coastal flooding.As of the NHC’s 8 p.m.
ET advisory, Bertha was about 10 miles north-east of Houston, Texas, and is moving west at 13 mph.Tropical Storm Bertha made an initial landfall in St.Bernard Parish, Louisiana, around 2 p.m.
local time on Wednesday.It’s the first named storm to make landfall in Louisiana since Hurricane Francine struck in September 2024 and just the 10th tropical cyclone to make landfall in the state during the month of July since reliable records began in 1850.FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell reported gusty winds along the beach in Biloxi, Mississippi, as Bertha’s center tracked into southeastern Louisiana.FOX Weather Senior Correspondent Robert Ray experienced rough surf and 40 mph wind gusts on Dauphin Island, Alabama, early Wednesday.Bertha moved over the uninhabited Chandeleur Islands, a set of barrier islands that mark the easternmost point of Louisiana, on Wednesday morning.All Tropical Storm Watches and Warnings that were in effect along the Gulf Coast have since been discontinued, bringing Bertha’s short-lived trek to an official end.According to the FOX Forecast Center, winds gusted as high as 50 mph along the Texas Coast Thursday afternoon, but that’s expected to quickly decrease after the storm moves ashore.While it is no longer a tropical storm, swells generated by Bertha will continue to impact the Louisiana and Texas c...