Tropical Storm Bertha Hits Gulf Coast

Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall again on Thursday near the Texas-Louisiana border after skimming southern Louisiana with a slow advance that caused high waves and some coastal flooding along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Meteorologists warned of potential further flooding as heavy rains moved inland towards southeastern Texas.

On Thursday afternoon, Bertha moved inland about 120 kilometers (75 miles) northeast of Galveston, Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Three hours later, it maintained its status as a tropical storm, though its maximum sustained winds had decreased to 65 km/h (40 mph). Forecasters expect the storm to weaken overnight.

Dense clouds associated with Bertha forced SpaceX to cancel a scheduled launch of a Starship rocket on Thursday night from southern Texas. The test flight, which was to nearly reach space, has been rescheduled for Friday when clear skies are forecast.

No deaths or significant damage have been reported since Bertha formed on Monday in the Gulf of Mexico south of the Florida Panhandle. The storm caused some coastal flooding when it first made landfall Wednesday in Louisiana southwest of New Orleans, although its heaviest rains remained over Gulf waters.

By Thursday, rains from the south of the storm’s center began moving inland along the southeast coast of Texas. A tropical storm warning remained in effect from Sargent, Texas, to the boundary between Vermilion and Cameron Parishes in Louisiana.

The hurricane center indicated that Bertha could still cause storm surges up to 60 centimeters (2 feet) along the coast and trigger isolated flash flooding due to heavy rains in coastal and southern Texas. Tropical storm-force winds extended up to 225 kilometers (140 miles) from the system’s center. Experts expect the storm to weaken as it moves over interior Texas, dissipating by Friday.

In Galveston, a city of 53,000 located southeast of Houston, local officials urged residents to prepare for a “windy day” and secure outdoor items that might become projectiles in high winds. “Although significant impacts are not forecast, some thunderstorms with gusts could pass over the island during the day,” stated the Galveston Office of Emergency Management on Facebook. The Galveston Historic Seaport canceled its boat tours on Thursday as a precaution but otherwise operated normally, said employee Jesi Hahn. “We will definitely be open,” Hahn said. “We generally close with large hurricanes.” At the nearby Harbor House Hotel and Marina, employee Justin Timber said they had no knowledge of canceled reservations. “It seems like a normal day,” he stated. “Restaurants are full. Everything is great.”

In Florida, power outages along the coast were minimal, according to the website poweroutage.us. However, Bertha’s passage was not harmless. In Pensacola, authorities closed an area around a damaged pier, according to Mayor D.C. Reeves on Facebook. He posted a photo showing damage to the support structure and a broken fence. Strong winds earlier in the week knocked a Waffle House sign onto a car in Panama City Beach, Florida. High waves and the threat of rip currents prompted warnings on Gulf Coast beaches for swimmers to stay out of the water.

Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Arthur in June brought heavy rain to the southeastern U.S. In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto was moving away from land. The hurricane was more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds of 130 km/h (80 mph). The hurricane center said waves generated by Fausto could cause high surf and potentially deadly rip currents in parts of southern California.