The Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall this Wednesday in the southeast of Louisianaaccompanied by winds of up to 75 kilometers per hour and intense rainfall, which threaten to generate isolated flash floodsaccording to the National Hurricane Center (NHC, in English) of the United States.
“Satellite images indicate that the center of the Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall near Biloxi Wildlife Management Areain the town of St Bernard (Louisiana),” reported the NHC in its latest bulletin.
Bertha It made landfall around 2:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. GMT).
He N.H.C. issued tropical storm warnings in New Orleans and the lake Pontchartrainlocated north of the city, and the main source of the catastrophic flooding that submerged much of the city in the wake of the hurricane Katrina in 2005.
In addition, it raised warnings from the west of Morgan Cityin Louisianauntil Sargentin Texasand provides that the conditions of tropical storm predominate in the area until within 36 hours.
The storm presents maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour (45 miles) and will bring rainfall volumes of 15.2 centimeters (6 inches) “until friday along the central and western coast of the Gulffrom northwest Florida to southern Texas.”
This amount of rainMay cause isolated flash floodsespecially in areas urban“.
However, NHC Deputy Director Jamie Rhome reported in a video that the greatest activity, in the form of heavy rain, is “very far to the south” with respect to the center of the storm thanks to the northerly winds, which will move the bulk of the storm away from the coast of Louisiana.
Due to the passage of the storm, formed on Monday, there will be tides up to 4 feet high (more than 1 meter), with storm surges that will cause “wave conditions and life-threatening ocean currents,” the forecast added.
The latest bulletin shows that Bertha will travel along the south coast of Louisiana before entering Texas Thursday afternoon, when it will begin to transform into a depression on Friday morning.
Bertha It is the second named cyclone of the current hurricane season in the Atlanticwhere Storm Arthur formed on June 17, bringing rain to Texas.
The National Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, in English) USA On July 8, it lowered its forecast for the hurricane season in it Atlantic estimating that nine will be formed this year, below the historical average, given the strengthening of the climate phenomenon The Child.