Tropical Storm Bertha forms off Florida, triggers Gulf Coast alerts

Tropical Storm Bertha was about 110 miles south-southwest of Panama City, Florida, on Tuesday morning, with maximum sustained winds near 50 mph and a northwest drift of about 5 mph. A storm surge watch and tropical storm watches and warnings covered parts of the Gulf Coast as the system pushed toward the northern Gulf.

The slow-moving storm raised concerns about flooding rain from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana and Texas. New Orleans could see tropical storm conditions by Wednesday.

Bertha formed over the weekend as Tropical Depression Two and strengthened into a named tropical storm Monday night. Early Tuesday, the system was churning in the northeastern Gulf, with alerts stretching from the Florida Panhandle to the coast of southeastern Louisiana as officials tracked the threat of storm surge, heavy rain and strong wind gusts.

In Florida, heavy rain and thunderstorms were expected across portions of the west coast and the Panhandle, with widespread rainfall elsewhere in the state. One forecast called for 2 to 4 inches of rain through Friday, a level that could quickly overwhelm drainage in low-lying neighborhoods and put roads under water even without a major hurricane on landfall watch.