Article first published: Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 4 a.m. ET

Article last updated: Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 1 p.m. ET

System type: Tropical storm

System name: Bertha

According to the National Hurricane Center’s 1 p.m. Tuesday advisory, Tropical Storm Bertha is in the Gulf of Mexico, 90 miles southwest of Panama City, Florida and 125 miles southeast of Mobile, Alabama. The system, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, is moving northwest at 5 mph.

“… Bertha will move near or along the northern Gulf Coast during the next few days,” analysts explained. They also said “Little change in strength is expected today, and gradual weakening is forecast Wednesday through Friday.”

Yesterday (Monday)

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 yesterday’s 7 p.m. update. Forecasters issued a tropical storm warning for a portion of the northern gulf coast.

Watches and warnings currently in effect

• Tropical Storm Warning for Bay/Gulf County Line in Florida to the Terrebonne/Lafourche Parish Line in Louisiana

• Tropical Storm Watch for:

• West of the Terrebonne/Lafourche Parish Line to the Vermilion/Cameron Parish Line in 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 Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, in this case in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Hazards affecting land

Wind. Tropical storm conditions will continue spreading across portions of the warning area later today through Wednesday. Tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area in Louisiana by late 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 Mississipi/Alabama Border…2-4 ft Indian Pass, FL to Aucilla River, FL…1-3 ft MS/AL Border to Alabama/Florida Border…1-3 ft Lake Pontchartrain…1-3 ft Vermilion/Cameron Parish Line, LA to Mouth of the Mississippi River, LA…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 total rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches with isolated higher totals around 6 inches through Thursday along the central Gulf Coast from western Florida into southern Louisiana. This rainfall may produce isolated 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 will continue spreading westward along the northern Gulf Coast during the next few days. 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