Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall in St. Bernard Parish with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Satellite imagery indicated that the storm’s center crossed into the Biloxi Wildlife Management Area. Bertha will continue weakening from here on out, as the storm battles a combination of wind shear, dry air, and land interaction. This is evident with the latest satellite and radar scans, showing the heaviest rain and storms well south of the center of circulation.

Tropical Storm Warnings are now in effect for just about the entire Louisiana coastline, from Slidell to Cameron. This region stands the best chance of dealing with tropical-storm-force wind gusts and/or coastal flooding. Metro New Orleans has already observed wind gusts at tropical storm force.

Inland impacts will be limited with this system. Count on plenty of dry windows as Bertha glides past, with most of Wednesday turning out dry for the Capital Area. As the system pulls west on Thursday, rain chances will increase once again as tropical rainbands move through. The heaviest rain will remain over open water. Areas along the immediate coast could pick up 1-2" of rain, but even those totals will be somewhat spotty. Most locations will see less than an inch, with a few spots missing rain altogether.

Coastal storm surge and flooding remain a threat. As tide and surge stack up, usually dry shoreline zones could sit under 1 to 3 feet of water from the Mouth of the Mississippi River out to the Mississippi/Alabama state line. Nearby bodies of water, such as Lake Pontchartrain and surrounding stretches of the Louisiana coast, are looking at potential 1-to-3-foot rises as well. These impacts will start being felt on Wednesday and continue on Thursday. At the same time, swells pushing west are setting up dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents along much of the northern Gulf through the next couple of days.

Winds won't be a major issue, though coastal communities could see occasional gusts hovering right around tropical storm force (39 mph). Inland areas will mostly just deal with light 10–20 mph breezes, with some stronger gusts up to 30 mph. The storm center will continue westward through coastal Louisiana through Wednesday night and early Thursday, continuing to weaken in the process. Bertha will eventually dissipate and become post-tropical over Texas by the end of the week.

Tonight & Tomorrow: Bertha will track south of I-10 through Wednesday night and into Thursday. Expect cloud cover to build alongside a few scattered, light showers overnight, but don't expect anything too heavy. Temperatures will drop into the upper 70s to near 80°.

A steady east-northeast breeze of 10 to 20 mph will linger overnight and persist into Thursday, shifting out of the south as Bertha pulls away. This onshore flow could trigger a few heavier tropical rainbands with gusty winds and brief downpours. That said, Thursday won't be a total washout, with plenty of dry time between showers. The addition of cloud cover will limit highs to the lower 90s. Winds will ease, and skies will clear on Thursday night.

Up Next: Conditions will rapidly dry out toward the weekend and much of next week. With rain becoming scarce, heat will build once again. Look for highs in the mid-90s over the weekend, ramping up into the upper 90s by the middle part of next week.

The Tropics: Elsewhere in the basin, all is quiet. No additional development is expected in the Gulf, Caribbean, or Atlantic. 

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— The Storm Station Meteorologists

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