A tropical storm is predicted to erupt along the US Gulf Coast within hours as millions of Americans brace for a direct hit and life-threatening conditions.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has named the disturbance Tropical Depression Two, but forecasters expect this system to grow into a named storm as soon as Monday afternoon when wind speeds increase to more than 39mph.
At that point, it will become Tropical Storm Bertha, and it is on a path that will hit New Orleans head-on by Wednesday afternoon.
Heavy rain and sustained winds of more than 50mph are expected to impact the entire Gulf region, including the Florida Panhandle, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas.
Dangerous seas and waves up to 16 feet high could threaten boats and beachfront communities this week as Bertha barrels from east to west.
AccuWeather meteorologist Tyler Roys said in a statement: ‘Tropical systems can bring dangerous rainfall, flash flooding, and other hazardous impacts regardless of whether they receive an official designation.’
Tropical storm warnings have already been issued along the entire Florida coast by the National Weather Service, from Tallahassee to Miami, with officials saying the storm could ‘capsize or damage vessels.’
Up to eight inches of rain are expected in multiple areas, including Florida’s Tallahassee and Panama City, and in New Orleans, where nearly one million people live throughout the seven-parish metropolitan area.
Tropical Depression Two is expected to become a named storm on Monday
The storm, which is expected to bring heavy rain and sustained winds of more than 50mph, forming in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday
Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to make landfall in Louisiana by Wednesday
Meteorologists expect Tropical Depression Two to continue strengthening throughout Monday, as it forms in the extremely warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Tropical depressions are the first phase of major cyclone activity in the Atlantic, meaning the storm has formed a defined center of low pressure and some circulation, but still looks more like a largely undefined, swirling weather system on radars.
The rapidly forming cyclone has sustained winds of 35mph, just under the threshold to be officially upgraded to a named tropical storm.
The National Hurricane Center expected stronger thunderstorms to develop and winds to pick up to between 40mph and 75mph by early Tuesday morning, when conditions will likely begin reaching their most dangerous levels.
By Tuesday night, the threat to the US is expected to peak when winds from Bertha reach 50mph and dangerous waves form along the Gulf Coast.
‘Mariners should alter plans to avoid these hazardous conditions. Remain in port, seek safe harbor, alter course, and/or secure the vessel for severe conditions,’ NWS officials warned in a statement.
Storm models show nearly all tracks for Berth predict it will make landfall in the New Orleans area by 1pm local time on Wednesday.
The last named storm to make landfall in the US was Tropical Storm Chantal in July 2025. The last named storm to strike Louisiana was Hurricane Francine in 2024.
Tropical Storm Bertha is expected form on Monday and cross over Louisiana and Texas before weakening this week
The last named storm to strike Louisiana was Hurricane Francine in 2024, which caused widespread flooding and power disruptions
At the same time as Bertha gathers strength in the Gulf, millions of Americans from Minnesota to Louisiana have been dealing with skyrocketing temperatures across the Central US.
In the South, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and parts of Texas are also under a heat advisory on Monday, with the heat index expected to rise to 112F in New Orleans.
Long-range forecasters recently downgraded their predictions for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, due to the global weather phenomenon known as El Niño, which historically causes fewer major storms to form in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
On July 7, AccuWeather officially lowered its predictions for hurricane season because of the impact of El Niño, which is a natural climate pattern in which the central and eastern Pacific Ocean surface temperature becomes significantly warmer than average, flipping weather patterns worldwide.
The weather agency now believes there will be between eight and 14 named storms in the Atlantic this year, down from their prediction of 11 to 16 in March.
However, AccuWeather still predicted that four to seven of these storms will reach hurricane strength, and that three to five named storms will make landfall in the US – with Bertha likely being the first this week.
AccuWeather’s Lead Long Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok told the Daily Mail in June that this does not mean Americans should let down their guard in 2026, as a major hurricane can still reach land despite the presence of El Niño.
‘It only takes one storm, and then boom! We’re not saying that El Niño is going to weaken and dampen the Atlantic Basin season completely,’ he said.
‘There’s still a lot of warm water, a lot of potential there. So, [I] just wanted to make sure [if] people were saying, “Oh, we don’t have to worry about anything this year.” That’s not true. It only takes one storm.’
