Article first published: Monday, July 20, 2026, 4 a.m. ET
Article last updated: Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 1 a.m. ET
System type: Tropical storm
System name: Bertha
The National Hurricane Center’s 1 a.m. Tuesday advisory reported that the system strengthened enough to get a name: Tropical Storm Bertha. It found new strength and had evolved from a tropical depression into a tropical storm with sustained winds of 40 mph. The name gain was first reported in the 7 p.m. update. Tropical Storm Bertha is in the Gulf of Mexico, 125 miles south of Panama City, Florida and 200 miles southeast of Mobile, Alabama. Packing maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, the system is tracking to the northwest at 2 mph.
“… Bertha will move near or along the northern Gulf coast during the next several days,” according to forecasters.
Watches and warnings currently in effect
• Tropical Storm Warning for Alabama/Florida border to the Jefferson/Plaquemines Parish border in Louisiana
• Storm Surge Watch for Alabama/Florida Border to the Mouth of the Mississippi River
• Tropical Storm Watch for:
• Bay/Gulf County line in Florida westward to the Florida/Alabama border
• West of the Jefferson/Plaquemines Parish border to Morgan City, Louisiana
• Metropolitan New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain, and Lake Maurepas
Meaning of the different watches and warnings
A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.
A Storm Surge Watch means there is a possibility of life- threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline, in the indicated locations during the next 48 hours. For a depiction of areas at risk, please see the National Weather Service Storm Surge Watch/Warning Graphic, available at hurricanes.gov.
A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, in this case in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Additional watches or warnings may be required later today.
Hazards affecting land
Wind. Tropical storm conditions are expected within the warning area along the northern Gulf coast by late today into Wednesday.
Tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch area in the Florida Panhandle later today. Tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area in Louisiana by late tonight into Wednesday.
Storm surge. The combination of storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the immediate coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide…
Mouth of the Mississippi River, LA to Alabama/Florida Border…2-4 ft Indian Pass, FL to Chassahowitzka, FL…1-3 ft Morgan City, LA to Mouth of the Mississippi River, LA…1-3 ft Lake Pontchartrain…1-3 ft
The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances.
For a complete depiction of areas at risk of storm surge inundation, please see the National Weather Service Peak Storm Surge Graphic, available at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?peakSurge.
Rainfall. Bertha is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches with isolated higher totals around 8 inches through Thursday along the Gulf Coast and adjacent inland locations from western Florida into southern Louisiana, including southern portions of Alabama and Mississippi. This rainfall may produce areas of flash flooding, especially in urban areas.
For a complete forecast of rainfall associated with Bertha, please see the National Weather Service Storm Total Rainfall Graphic available at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?rainqpf and the Flash Flood Risk graphic at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?ero.
Surf. Swells generated by Bertha are affecting portions of the Gulf coast of Florida and are likely to spread westward during the week. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
A depiction of rip current risk for the United States can be found at: hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?ripCurrents
Source: National Hurricane Center