Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to form off the Florida coast on Monday, bringing heavy rain and thunderstorms to the state's west coast, Big Bend area, and Panhandle. The depression is currently moving erratically towards the northwest, but is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm later today or tonight. The National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical storm watch for much of Florida's Panhandle and a storm surge watch for the Alabama/Florida border to the mouth of the Mississippi River. An isolated tornado or two is possible over the Florida Big Bend region today. The depression is expected to produce up to 2 to 4 inches of rainfall through Friday along the Gulf Coast and adjacent inland locations from western Florida to the Middle Texas Coast, including southern portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, reaching up to 6 inches in some areas. AccuWeather's lead hurricane expert, Alex DaSilva, warns that dry air and hostile wind shear across the Gulf will be the biggest factors in whether the depression organizes. He predicts that the depression will likely prevent significant strengthening, but if it encounters a temporary reduction in wind shear, it could intensify more rapidly and track farther west toward Texas. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, with 97% of tropical cyclone activity occurring during this time period. The National Hurricane Center is also monitoring two tropical waves in the Atlantic and Caribbean, one in the eastern Atlantic and one in the eastern Caribbean. The peak of the hurricane season is typically around September 10, with the most activity happening between mid-August and mid-October. Coastal residents are reminded that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season, and thorough preparations should be made every season, regardless of predicted activity.
