Bertha weakens to tropical depression after dumping rain along Gulf Coast

Bertha weakened to a tropical depression on Thursday night after moving inland near the border of Texas and Louisiana. Heavy rains are expected to continue along the Texas Gulf and South Texas.

High wind gusts are still possible along the upper Texas coast, the National Hurricane Center said.

Map shows projected path

Bertha, the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, has had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph after a gradual decrease since Tuesday night. The wind speed decreased to 35 mph on Thursday evening and is expected to weaken throughout the night.

“Bertha is expected to produce total rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches with isolated totals to 4 inches into tonight along the Texas Gulf Coast and South Texas,” the center said. “This rainfall may produce isolated flash flooding, especially in urban areas.”

Bertha is expected to dissipate later Thursday night.  

Louisiana state climatologist Jay Grymes said Wednesday he expected some pockets of flooding, but added, “With luck, this will be an in-and-out kind of situation.” It appears to have been so.

Wind and storm surge were the main threats facing southern states in Bertha’s path, some of which closed parks, piers and certain low-lying roads near the coast as the system approached. In the New Orleans area, residents dealt with an uncommon combination of extreme heat and tropical storm warnings. 

Warnings no longer in effect

There are no longer any tropical storm warnings issued for Texas or Louisiana. The warnings for the Gulf Coast from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Sargent, Texas, have been discontinued, the center said.

Wind gusts to tropical storm force are still possible along the upper Texas coast during Thursday evening, the center said. 

“Water levels may remain elevated through the next high tide cycle along the Louisiana and Texas coastline but should subside thereafter,” the center said.

Bertha comes weeks after the 2026 hurricane season’s first named storm, Tropical Storm Arthur, which made landfall in June along the Gulf Coast of Texas. Parts of coastal Mississippi still recovering from Arthur’s flooding could receive heavy rain during this latest storm, too.