Tropical Storm Bertha heads for Texas after Louisiana landfall

Forecasters warn of US coastal flooding, heavy rain and dangerous surf as the storm tracks west

Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday afternoon , and is moving westward toward the Texas coast, where it is expected to reach later on Thursday, bringing rainfall, winds and rising water levels.

In a Thursday morning update , the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that Bertha was moving west and that the center of the tropical storm was expected to move near or along the Louisiana and upper Texas coasts over the next several hours before moving inland over Texas on Thursday evening.

The tropical storm’s maximum sustained winds remain near 45mph (75km/h), with higher gusts. Forecasters said Bertha was expected to maintain tropical storm strength until it reaches the upper Texas coast later on Thursday, and that the system was then expected to dissipate inland over Texas late Thursday night or Friday.

As of Thursday morning, Tropical Storm warnings were in effect for areas along the Gulf coast from Morgan City, Louisiana , to Sargent, Texas, meaning tropical storm conditions are expected. The warning east of Morgan City has been discontinued.

A coastal flood warning was in effect on Thursday morning for Lower St Mary parish, Louisiana, where forecasters warned that 2ft to 3ft of “inundation is expected along the coast” and that “low lying property including homes, businesses, and some critical infrastructure will be inundated.”

The NHC warned that the combination of storm surge and the tide was expected to cause “normally dry areas near the immediate coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline”.

It added that Bertha was also “expected to produce total rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches with isolated totals to 6 inches through Thursday night along Texas Gulf Coast and South Texas”.

“This rainfall may produce isolated flash flooding, especially in urban areas,” the NHC said.

Swells generated by Bertha are also expected to continue “spreading westward along the northern and northwestern Gulf Coast” and the forecasters said that they are “likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions”.

The National Weather Service in Houston/Galveston, Texas, said on Thursday that Bertha was moving westward with “maximum sustained wind speeds of 45mph” in some of the area’s coastal counties, and that “gusts to weak tropical storm force (up to 40mph) are the most likely impact along the immediate coast”.

“Primary issues will be some wind gusts to lower end tropical storm strength along some of our coastal counties,” they added . “Further inland, some 20-30mph gusts can be anticipated as the day progresses.”

According to AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert, Alex DaSilva , the main impacts from this storm “will continue to be locally heavy rain, gusty winds along the coast and storm surge that can cause some coastal flooding”.