🌀EXCLUSIVE ANALYSIS: FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross breaks down why Tropical Storm Bertha could have a unique kind of landfall in Louisiana later this afternoon. How could Bertha impact Texas? Latest:
Updated at 9:50 a.m. on Wednesday, July 22, 2026.Â
Tropical Storm Bertha will soon make landfall on the east-facing coast of southeastern Louisiana. Gusty winds are impacting the Gulf Coast from Alabama to Louisiana, but so much dry air is pushing in from the north that the rain associated with the circulation is relatively light.
Winds on the backside of the circulation are pushing Gulf water toward the coast. Tides have been running 2 to 3 feet above normal, resulting in some limited coastal flooding around high tide.
TROPICAL STORM BERTHA APPROACHES LOUISIANA WITH POTENTIAL LANDFALL HOURS AWAY
Tropical Storm Bertha stats as of 8 a.m. advisory
(FOX Weather)
Once Bertha’s broad center makes landfall, the circulation is likely to get sufficiently disrupted that the tropical system essentially dissipates.
But the cluster of thunderstorms south of Louisiana over the very warm Gulf water is quite intense. It’s not out of the question that a new center forms from that compact system, and the new circulation and the remnants of Bertha continue west toward Texas.
TRACK TROPICAL STORM BERTHA: LIVE RADAR, FORECAST CONE, FLOOD THREAT, WIND SPEED AND WARNINGS
There might be a time that there, technically speaking, is no surface circulation to follow, but it’s likely this will all be called Bertha.
Different forecast models of Tropical Storm Bertha’s potential track.
(FOX Weather)
In any case, the consensus of the computer forecast models that pick up on the redeveloped center is that Bertha, or whatever becomes of it, will be at most a low-end tropical storm when it reaches Texas late tomorrow. That’s also the forecast from the National Hurricane Center.
The trend of the computer models has been to take Bertha or the combo system farther south than the cone for the “old” center has indicated.
Exactly what shape the system will be in tomorrow and Friday is an open question. Coastal interests in Texas between Corpus Christi and Galveston should stay aware. Winds gusting to tropical storm strength are increasingly likely. The NHC has issued a Tropical Storm Watch to cover that possibility.
Wind gust forecast HAFS-A Model for Thursday in Texas
(FOX Weather)
The HAFS-A computer model, a special hurricane-focused model, shows an area of winds gusting over 50 mph impacting the coast between Port Lavaca and Galveston. It also shows an elongated circulation, so the system is not very well organized.
The environment will continue to be somewhat hostile to development tomorrow, and the redeveloped system won’t have much time to pull itself together, so it’s unlikely that a strong storm would impact Texas based on what we know now. But systems can flare up quickly due to the curvature of the Texas coast and the very warm Gulf water, so stay aware of the latest alerts in the potentially affected areas.
Tropical Storm Bertha
(Bryan Norcross / FOX Weather)
If this comes together as now seems possible, essentially a new storm will be organizing just off the Texas coast tomorrow and making landfall. Don’t be surprised.
