Bertha is kicking up tropical storm-force gusts and dangerous beach conditions as it moves west across southern Louisiana, but its moisture will also help fuel a more serious flooding rain threat hundreds of miles away on the East Coast through the end of the week.
Bertha made landfall in southeastern Louisiana’s St. Bernard Parish at 3 p.m ET, according to the National Hurricane Center, but its strongest winds and heavy rain remain offshore. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph when its center pushed ashore.
Tropical moisture from Bertha will partly play a role in unleashing a much bigger flooding rain threat along a cold front over southeast Virginia, parts of the Carolinas and northern Georgia through Thursday.
A stalled front is pulling Bertha’s moisture from the Gulf Coast into the Southeast to fuel heavy rainfall. CNN Weather
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.
This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Tropical Storm Bertha makes landfall in Louisiana.