Tropical Storm Bertha makes landfall in Louisiana, forecasts predict limited impact

Tropical Storm Bertha moved over the Louisiana coastline on Wednesday, making landfall in St. Bernard Parish just south of New Orleans. The storm’s strongest winds remained offshore, and local forecasters expected gusts of around 40 miles per hour, largely confined south of Interstate 10.

Meteorologists noted that northerly winds have kept the system off-balance, preventing it from intensifying further. As a result, the most significant impacts are projected to stay south of the coast. Over the next 24 hours the storm’s center is forecast to track westward along the Louisiana-Texas border, with the possibility of re-entering the Gulf of Mexico and heading toward Houston on Thursday. Houston forecasters said the atmosphere ahead of the storm is unfavorable for strengthening, so any landfall there would likely be at reduced intensity.

Despite its modest wind speeds, Bertha still meets the criteria for a named tropical storm, prompting the issuance of warnings for hazards such as storm surge, flash flooding from embedded thunderstorms, and rip currents along Gulf beaches. Officials cautioned that even small surges combined with high tide could cause localized flooding, and that rip currents can persist after the storm passes.