Tropical Storm Bertha makes landfall in Louisiana. It’s also fueling a serious flood threat on the East Coast
Bertha Brings Coastal Winds and Sets Stage for Eastern Floods
Activelifezero.com – Tropical Storm Bertha is currently moving westward across southern Louisiana, generating tropical storm-force wind gusts and creating hazardous beach conditions along the coast. However, the storm’s moisture content will simultaneously contribute to a significant flooding threat on the East Coast that could persist through the end of the week.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Bertha officially made landfall in southeastern Louisiana’s St. Bernard Parish at 3 p.m. ET. Despite making landfall, the storm’s most intense winds and heaviest rainfall remain positioned offshore. The system currently maintains maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and sits approximately 25 miles southeast of New Orleans.
Moisture Fueling Eastern Flood Threat
Tropical moisture originating from Bertha will partially contribute to a much larger flooding rain threat along a cold front positioned over southeast Virginia, portions of the Carolinas, and northern Georgia through Thursday. This moisture began funneling into that region in earnest on Wednesday, establishing the new flood threat.
The storm system that on Tuesday caused historic flooding in West Virginia and wreaked havoc from the Ohio Valley to the East Coast will linger across Virginia and the Southeast through the end of the week. The extra moisture and that storm system’s stalling front have already produced bands of rain in eastern Tennessee, southern Virginia and northern North Carolina.
Storms in northeast Tennessee prompted flash flood warnings to the north of Knoxville on Wednesday morning, with some places seeing up to 5 inches of rain within a few hours. There are more rounds of rain to come through Friday, and some areas could even pick up a month’s worth of rain in just a few days.
Bertha’s Current Status and Forecast
Bertha is the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which has gotten off to a slow start compared to recent years as El Niño tightens its grip on parts of the basin. Bertha continues to be a poorly organized and lopsided storm. Despite fuel from near-record warm Gulf water, unfavorable high-altitude winds will keep its heaviest rain and strongest winds offshore as it tracks westward along the Louisiana Gulf Coast through Thursday morning.
Bertha itself is forecast to weaken as it trudges west into coastal Texas by Thursday evening. The storm or its remnants will bring rain and possibly gusty winds there while still sending tropical moisture to storms in the Southeast. The storm is already battling unfavorable atmospheric conditions, and interaction with land, which deprives it of warm-water fuel, could cause Bertha to dissipate sooner.
Warnings and Rainfall Expectations
Tropical storm conditions will impact areas along Alabama’s coast and most of Louisiana’s, including New Orleans, through Wednesday night, according to the National Hurricane Center. A tropical storm warning is in effect for these areas, which means sustained 39+ mph winds are expected. Tropical storm watches are in effect as far west as southeastern Texas.
A back-to-back Level 3 of 4 risk of flooding rain is in place for a section of the Virginia-North Carolina border into Friday morning. A Level 2 of 4 risk covers much of the Mid-Atlantic and Appalachian region and parts of the Southeast. The Level 3 risk area could see up to 6 inches of rain, with greater amounts possible in localized areas where storms stall. A more widespread area will receive between 2 and 4 inches.
The rainfall in southern Virginia and North Carolina is needed to help quench drought conditions there, but too much rain repeating over the same areas over hours or days could quickly cause dangerous flash flooding. At least localized flash flooding is possible as far west as Atlanta, northern Alabama and eastern Tennessee.
Beaches from the Florida Panhandle westward to Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana will see dangerous conditions because of coastal flooding, rough surf and a high risk of rip currents through at least Thursday. Bertha is hurling some bands of rain into the Gulf Coast, but the risk of flash flooding is low. Tropical storm conditions are still possible in coastal Texas since Bertha is currently forecast to remain intact and push ashore there Thursday evening.
