Tropical Storm Bertha crawled into southern Louisiana on Wednesday, making landfall and packing strong winds far from its center after closing beaches from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi.
The National Hurricane Center said Bertha made landfall in the afternoon in St. Bernard Parish, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of New Orleans. At landfall, Bertha’s maximum sustained winds were around 45 mph (72 kph), and were expected to remain at that intensity until the storm reaches the upper Texas coast on Thursday.
The wind and storm surge were the main threats for the Deep South states. Parks and piers were closed up and down the coast, as were some low-lying roads. A tropical storm warning stretched from Alabama to Louisiana, including New Orleans where extreme heat was adding to misery.
By Thursday evening, the storm’s center was located about 40 miles (70 kilometers) southwest of New Orleans.
Onlookers watched the storm surge at the Lake Pontchartrain estuary, with kids splashing in the floodwaters as Bertha approached the Louisiana Coast. Residents mowed their lawns even as streets filled up with water.
Tropical storm force winds were felt as much as 160 miles (260 kilometers) from the center of the storm, the National Hurricane Center said. A wind gust of 44 mph (71 kph) was recorded at New Orleans Lakefront Airport on Wednesday afternoon.
AP AUDIO: Tropical Storm Bertha makes landfall on southern Louisiana with threatening winds
AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports tropical weather has moved out of the Gulf of Mexico.
The strong gales knocked over a Waffle House sign onto a car in Panama City Beach, Florida.
But the heaviest rains were staying offshore, reducing the risks of flooding, the center said.
The storm is unlikely to leave behind widespread damage, Louisiana State Climatologist Jay Grymes said. The impact should be manageable for coastal communities, he said.
Gov. Jeff Landry called the forecast “encouraging” but also warned residents to be prepared for some flooding.
Storm surges up to 3 feet (1 meter) were possible in Louisiana and Alabama, forecasters said. Rain totals were forecast between 1 and 4 inches (3 to 10 centimeters), with higher amounts possible in isolated areas.
Bertha is expected to dissipate inland in Texas by Friday, the hurricane center said.
Elsewhere in the U.S., a line of storms on Tuesday generated reports of tornadoes stretching from Cincinnati to New Jersey. Torrential rains caused flash floods that swamped homes, washed out bridges and led to water rescues in West Virginia, authorities said.
Rare combination of tropical storm and heat warnings
Southern Louisiana was under tropical storm and extreme heat warnings for much of Wednesday — a rare double dose of suffering, the National Weather Service said.
It was the first time in at least two decades that’s happened in the area, the weather service said, citing records that date back to 2005.
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Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic season
Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Arthur in June brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern U.S.
Bertha could dump heavy rain on coastal areas of Mississippi that are still recovering from flooding brought by Arthur that destroyed and damaged homes.
Hurricane Fausto in the Pacific is far from land
AP AUDIO: Beaches closed as Tropical Storm Bertha crawls along the Gulf Coast
In an AP interview, Robbie Berg, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center, says for Bertha the wind bands matter more than the landfall.
In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned far from land Wednesday. The hurricane was hundreds of miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph).
It was forecast to gradually strengthen and the hurricane center said that ocean swells generated by Fausto were spreading along the Baja California coast and likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip tides.
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Associated Press journalists Julie Walker in New York, Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, and Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
