- Tropical Storm Bertha formed near the coast of South Carolina on Wednesday morning.
- Bertha’s main threat will be heavy rain spreading northward from South Carolina toward North Carolina and western Virginia.
- Flash flooding is possible since soils are already saturated by recent rainfall in some of these areas.
- Rough surf and dangerous rip currents are expected along the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas.
Tropical Storm Bertha has formed quickly this morning near the coast of South Carolina and it will track inland through North Carolina and Virginia with potentially flooding rainfall.
Bertha is centered 30 miles east-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and is moving northwest at 9 mph. It will make landfall in the next few hours and then quickly weaken to a tropical depression and a remnant low as it moves toward North Carolina and western Virginia through this evening.
A tropical storm warning has been issued along the South Carolina coast from Edisto Beach to South Santee River.
Current Information and Projected Path
Despite that expected weakening, Bertha will bring soaking rainfall and possible flooding into parts of the Carolinas and Virginia through Wednesday night. Gusty winds will also accompany this system as it moves inland.
Rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches (locally up to 8 inches) are possible from eastern and central South Carolina to southeast and central North Carolina and southwest Virginia.
Current Radar, Watches and Warnings
(Watches and warnings (when active) are issued by the Storm Prediction Center and the National Weather Service.)
The National Weather Service has issued flash flood watches for portions of central and eastern South Carolina, central North Carolina and western Virginia, where the ground is already saturated by recent rainfall. This includes Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina, and Roanoke, Virginia.
Flood Alerts
(From the National Weather Service.)
Bertha will also produce dangerous surf and rip currents along the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas on Wednesday. Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the ocean.
Rain chances will continue across the Southeast into late week because of a separate weather system approaching from the south-central states.
How Did Bertha Form So Quickly?
Bertha formed from a tropical disturbance we’ve been tracking since Memorial Day weekend near Florida. That disturbance brought more than a foot of rain in three days to Miami, where it triggered widespread street flooding on Tuesday.
Its circulation center became much better defined on Doppler radar as it approached the South Carolina coast on Wednesday morning. Buoy reports also indicated tropical-storm-force winds near that center of low pressure.
It was deemed a tropical storm by the National Hurricane Center since it had all the characteristics of a tropical storm. That includes a well-organized area of low pressure, collocated showers and thunderstorms and tropical-storm-force winds.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
