BILOXI, Miss.—Tropical Storm Bertha brushed the Mississippi Gulf Coast Wednesday morning, bringing rain and wind to the coast before it made landfall in St. Bernard, Louisiana near the Biloxi Wildlife Management Area at around 2 p.m.
As of 1 p.m. Bertha was located approximately 35 miles southwest of Biloxi with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, according to an advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
Bertha brought some showers and strong winds to parts of the Mississippi Coast with showers beginning around 10 a.m. and beginning to clear up by around 12:30 p.m. Forecasters say most of the heavy rain is expected to occur offshore.
“The storm’s very lopsided,” Jeff Clark, the public information officer for Harrison County, told the Mississippi Free Press on Wednesday. “The wind shear has been able to just pretty much knock the top off of it, so (meteorologists) are not expecting it to accelerate or gain strength.”
A Tropical Storm Warning is still in effect for the southern portions of Jackson, Harrison and Hancock counties until 6 p.m. on Wednesday.This indicates tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 24 to 36 hours. Coastal Flood Warnings remain in effect for those areas until 4 a.m. Thursday.
A Tropical Storm Watch remains in effect from 10 a.m. for the northern portions of Jackson, Harrison and Hancock counties through tonight.
Forecasters say there is little to no potential for tornadoes to form on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Bertha is the second tropical cyclone to reach Mississippi since June, when the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur battered the Gulf Coast with winds and rain and caused dangerous flash flooding in multiple counties. More than 500 homes sustained damage from Arthur, and numerous roads and other infrastructure were also compromised.
County officials say heavy rainfall in the week preceding Arthur exacerbated the destruction.
“By the time Arthur came through, we were saturated,” Clark explained. “Our river levels were well above flood stage, so it was messy.”
On July 17, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves requested a major disaster declaration from the White House for eight counties affected by Arthur, hoping to provide them with expanded assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The petition marks the third time this year that Mississippi has sought emergency funds following severe weather, including powerful storms and tornadoes in May and a ferocious winter storm in January.
“Mississippians are resilient, but the damage caused by Tropical Storm Arthur has left many families and communities facing a long recovery,” Reeves said in a July 17 news release announcing the latest request. “Mississippi will continue to support every community affected as they recover.”
President Donald Trump has approved Mississippi’s past two disaster declaration requests, unlocking millions in emergency funding for hard-hit residents and municipalities. While much of the funds have yet to be distributed, FEMA has steered nearly $94 million toward local recovery efforts in the last 120 days, state agencies announced Monday.
Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to weaken as it nears Texas, forecasters said.
While the storm is expected to lose strength through the rest of the week, forecasters said it may still produce damaging winds, storm surges around the coast and flooding.
Follow the Mississippi Free Press’ coverage of the Gulf Coast and read past stories here.
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