Tropical Storm Bertha weakens after bringing strong winds and heavy surf
to Louisiana and Texas
[July 24, 2026]
By RUSS BYNUM
Tropical Storm Bertha brought heavy surf and some flooding to southern
Louisiana and Texas as it came ashore on the Gulf Coast for a second
time Thursday, hours before weakening to a tropical depression.
The National Hurricane Center said wind gusts of tropical storm force
were still possible along the upper Texas coast Thursday evening, and
water levels in the area may remain high from storm surge. By late
evening, the hurricane center declared Bertha had dissipated.
Its remnants are still expected to produce 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6
centimeters) of rainfall, with isolated totals up to 4 inches (10.1
centimeters) that could trigger flash flooding in coastal and south
Texas, the hurricane center said.
Bertha first grazed southern Louisiana on Wednesday in a slow crawl
westward. The storm weakened as it made its second landfall about 75
miles (115 kilometers) northeast of Galveston, Texas, on Thursday
afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said. It remained a tropical
storm for a few hours before being downgraded to a depression, marked by
maximum sustained winds of 38 mph (61 kph) or less.
Thick clouds associated with Bertha prompted SpaceX to call off Thursday
evening’s planned Starship launch from the southern tip of Texas. The
space-skimming test flight was rescheduled for Friday, when the forecast
called for clear skies.
No deaths or significant damage have been reported since Bertha formed
Monday in the Gulf of Mexico south of the Florida Panhandle. The storm
caused some coastal flooding as its center first struck land Wednesday
in Louisiana southwest of New Orleans, but its heaviest rains stayed
over the Gulf waters.
That rainfall south of the storm's center began moving inland along
Texas' southeastern coast Thursday afternoon. Tropical storm force winds
on Thursday extended as far as 140 miles (225 kilometers) from the
storm’s center, the hurricane center said.
A tropical storm warning was discontinued by evening from Sargent,
Texas, to the Vermilion and Cameron Parish line in Louisiana.
Galveston businesses stay open as offic
ials predict a 'windy day’
In Galveston, an island city of 53,000 people southeast of Houston,
local officials urged residents to brace for a “windy day” and secure
any outdoor objects that might become airborne projectiles.
“While no significant impacts are forecast, some gusty storms may blow
through the island throughout the day,” Galveston’s Office of Emergency
Management said in a Facebook post Thursday.
The Galveston Historic Seaport canceled its sightseeing boat tours
Thursday afternoon as a precaution, but was otherwise operating
normally, said employee Jesi Hahn.
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SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is prepared for a test flight from
Starbase, Texas, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
“We’ll definitely be open,” Hahn said. “We usually close for big
hurricanes.”
At the nearby Harbor House Hotel and Marina, employee Justin Timber
said he wasn’t aware of any canceled reservations.
“It seems like a normal day,” he said. “Restaurants are clicking.
Everything’s great.”
In Florida, storm damages a boardwalk and topples a Waffle House
sign
Electrical outages across the Gulf Coast were minimal, according to
the website poweroutage.us. Still, Bertha’s passage wasn’t harmless.
In Pensacola, Florida, officials closed an area around a
storm-damaged beach boardwalk, Mayor D.C. Reeves said Thursday on
Facebook. He posted a photo showing part of the boardwalk’s support
structure ripped away and a fence damaged nearby.
Strong gales earlier in the week knocked over a Waffle House sign
onto a car in Panama City Beach, Florida. Heavy surf and the threat
of rip tides had prompted warnings at Gulf Coast beaches for
swimmers to stay out of the water.
Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane
season. Tropical Storm Arthur in June brought heavy rainfall to the
southeastern U.S.
In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned far from land
Thursday. The hurricane was more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers)
west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum
sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph).
The hurricane center said swells generated by Fausto could cause
life-threatening surf and rip tides in parts of southern California.
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia, and Thanawala reported from
Atlanta. AP journalist Marcia Dunn in Cape Canaveral, Florida,
contributed.
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