Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall again on Thursday near the Texas-Louisiana border. This occurred after it skimmed southern Louisiana, causing strong waves and minor flooding along the Gulf Coast. Meteorologists warned of potential further flooding as heavy rains move inland toward southeast Texas.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that by Thursday afternoon, Bertha was moving inland approximately 120 kilometers (75 miles) northeast of Galveston, Texas. The storm maintained its tropical storm status, albeit with maximum sustained winds dropping to 65 km/h (40 mph). It is expected to weaken overnight.
Thick clouds related to Bertha forced SpaceX to cancel a planned Starship rocket launch from southern Texas on Thursday night. The test flight, nearing space, has been rescheduled for Friday when clear skies are forecasted.
No deaths or significant damage have been reported since Bertha formed on Monday in the Gulf of Mexico, south of Florida’s northwest strip. The storm caused some coastal flooding during its first landfall on Wednesday in Louisiana, southwest of New Orleans. However, its heaviest rains mostly stayed over the Gulf waters.
As the rains south of Bertha’s center began moving inland on Thursday, a tropical storm warning was still in effect from Sargent, Texas, to the borders of Vermilion and Cameron parishes in Louisiana. The hurricane center noted that Bertha could still cause storm surges of up to 60 centimeters (2 feet) along the coast and isolated flash flooding from intense rains in south Texas.
Wind speeds typical of a tropical storm extended up to 225 kilometers (140 miles) from the storm’s center. Experts predict the storm will weaken as it progresses over Texas and dissipates by Friday.
In Galveston, an island city with 53,000 residents southeast of Houston, local officials advised preparation for a “windy day”. They suggested securing outdoor items that might be blown away by the wind. “Though significant impacts aren’t forecasted, some storms with gusts could pass over the island today,” said Galveston’s Emergency Management Office on Facebook.
Jesi Hahn, an employee at Galveston Historic Seaport, mentioned normal operations except for a precautionary cancellation of boat tours on Thursday. “We’ll definitely be open,” she stated. “We usually close for major hurricanes.”
Justin Timber, an employee at the nearby Harbor House Hotel and Marina, reported no canceled reservations. “It looks like a normal day,” he remarked. “Restaurants are full. Everything is great.”
Minor Florida Damages from Bertha
Along the coast, power outages were minimal according to poweroutage.us. However, Bertha’s impact was not entirely harmless. In Pensacola, Florida, authorities closed an area around a pier damaged by the storm. Mayor D.C. Reeves shared a photo on Facebook showing structural damage and a harm fence.
Earlier in the week, strong winds knocked a Waffle House sign onto a car in Panama City Beach, Florida. High surf and the risk of rip currents led to warnings for swimmers to stay out of the Gulf Coast waters.
Bertha is the Atlantic hurricane season’s second tropical storm. The first, Tropical Storm Arthur in June, brought heavy rain to the southeastern U.S. Meanwhile, in the eastern Pacific, Hurricane Fausto moved far from land, positioned over 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) west-southwest of Baja California’s southern tip, with maximum sustained winds of 130 km/h (80 mph). The hurricane center stated that swells from Fausto could cause high surf and potentially deadly rip currents in southern California.
Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia, and Thanawala from Atlanta. AP journalist Marcia Dunn contributed from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
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