Tropical Storm Bertha churning off US Gulf Coast
CVX•Bertha strengthens off the Gulf Coast
July 21 (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Bertha churned across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday as tropical-storm conditions spread across portions of the northern Gulf Coast, while a separate weather system threatened severe thunderstorms and heavy rain across the U.S. Northeast.
Bertha, the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, was centered about 105 miles (170 km) south-southeast of Mobile, Alabama, as of 7 p.m. CDT on Tuesday (0000 GMT on Wednesday), according to the National Hurricane Center, packing maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph) and moving west at 6 mph, the hurricane center said. It was expected to make landfall in Louisiana late Wednesday.
A gradual weakening was forecast on Wednesday through Friday.
Warnings extend across the Gulf Coast
Tropical storm warnings stretched from Florida's Panhandle westward into coastal Louisiana, including metropolitan New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. The hurricane center warned of dangerous surf and rip currents for summer vacationers.
