Thread: Tropical Storm Bertha forms in the Atlantic

Tropical Storm Bertha forms in the Atlantic
Thu Jul 3, 11:23 AM ET

MIAMI - Tropical Storm Bertha has formed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. At 11 a.m. EDT Thursday, the center of the storm was located about 190 miles south-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.

The second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is moving toward the west-northwest at about 14 mph, and forecasters expect that to continue for the next couple of days. Maximum sustained winds were near 40 mph. Some gradual strengthening is forecast during the next day or two.

It's still too early to say if or where Bertha will hit land.

The first named storm this year, Arthur, formed in the Atlantic the day before the season officially started June 1 and soaked the Yucatan Peninsula.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080703/...llyxu.KdgXIr0F

So it begins... the last "Bertha" was in the late 90's and hit along the Carolinas. Anyone remember that one ?

TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
800 PM EDT THU JUL 3 2008

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC, CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...

THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IS ISSUING ADVISORIES ON TROPICAL STORM BERTHA LOCATED ABOUT 105 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE SOUTHERNMOST CAPE VERDE ISLANDS.

DISORGANIZED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SEA ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A WESTWARD MOVING TROPICAL WAVE. UPPER LEVEL WINDS ARE CONDUCIVE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SYSTEM.

ELSEWHERE...TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gtwo_atl.shtml

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/grap...large#contents

Originally Posted by luvcub

I been watching very close to the tropics,even have email that updates several times a day,might be busy yr this yr.

Pacific has already had four named storms.... they get less press because they usually move out to sea and only present problems for shipping interests.

TROPICAL STORM BERTHA
ADVISORY NUMBER 12
1100 PM AST SAT JUL 05 2008

BERTHA RACING WESTWARD OVER THE CENTRAL ATLANTIC.

AT 1100 PM AST...0300Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM BERTHA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 17.0 NORTH...LONGITUDE 41.2 WEST OR ABOUT 1140 MILES...1835 KM...WEST OF THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS AND ABOUT 1445 MILES...2325 KM...EAST OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS.

BERTHA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 21 MPH...33 KM/HR...AND THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 50 MPH...85 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. LITTLE CHANGE IN STRENGTH IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 85 MILES...140 KM FROM THE CENTER. ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1000 MB...29.53 INCHES.

REPEATING THE 1100 PM AST
POSITION...17.0 N...41.2 W.
MOVEMENT TOWARD...WEST NEAR 21 MPH.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...50 MPH.
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1000 MB.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh...l/060232.shtml

Atlantic storm Bertha may soon turn to hurricane
By Michael Connor
Sun Jul 6, 3:24 PM ET

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Bertha, moving briskly across open ocean waters, may strengthen into the first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic storm season sometime during the next 48 hours, U.S. weather forecasters said on Sunday.

Bertha, which formed on Thursday near the Cape Verde islands off Africa, had maximum sustained winds approaching 50 miles per hour (85 km per hour) at 11 a.m. EDT and was heading west at 21 mph (33 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. "Gradual strengthening is expected during the next 48 hours, and Bertha could become a hurricane during that time," the forecasters said in an advisory.

Storms are judged to be hurricanes when their wind speed reaches at least 74 mph (119 kph).

Bertha is nowhere near land, and the hurricane center's tracking forecasts have the storm staying at sea and taking a general west-northwest route over the next five days. The storm's speed was expected to ease during the next two days. "It is much too early to determine if Bertha will eventually affect any land areas," the forecasters said.

The storm's center was near latitude 17.4 north and longitude 45.1 west, or about 1,185 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands.

Bertha is the second tropical storm of what has been predicted to be an above-average storm season in the Atlantic and Caribbean.

Energy markets closely monitor tropical storms in the Atlantic because of the potential for them to threaten oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico. The 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, which included Katrina, the hurricane that swamped New Orleans, left dozens of oil rigs toppled or damaged and sent crude prices to what were then record highs.

The Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season runs from June 1 to the end of November, with August and September usually the busiest months.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080706/...t6ivKUJmes0NUE


TROPICAL STORM BERTHA
ADVISORY NUMBER 16
1100 PM AST SUN JUL 06 2008

BERTHA RIGHT ON TRACK APPEARS TO BE ON ITS WAY TO BECOME A HURRICANE.

AT 1100 PM AST...0300Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM BERTHA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 18.6 NORTH...LONGITUDE 48.9 WEST OR ABOUT 930 MILES...1500 KM...EAST OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS.

BERTHA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 20 MPH...32 KM/HR. THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE DURING THE NEXT 24 TO 48 HOURS WITH A GRADUAL DECREASE IN FORWARD SPEED. IT TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE IF BERTHA EVENTUALLY AFFECT ANY LAND AREAS.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 65 MPH...100 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. BERTHA WILL LIKELY BECOME A HURRICANE ON MONDAY. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 85 MILES...140 KM... MAINLY TO THE NORTH OF THE CENTER.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 994 MB...29.35 INCHES.

REPEATING THE 1100 PM AST
POSITION...18.6 N...48.9 W.
MOVEMENT TOWARD...WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 20 MPH.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...65 MPH.
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...994 MB.

THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 500 AM AST.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh...l/060232.shtml

it is now HURRICANE BERTHA!


000
WTNT32 KNHC 070845
TCPAT2
BULLETIN
HURRICANE BERTHA ADVISORY NUMBER 17
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL022008
500 AM AST MON JUL 07 2008

...BERTHA BECOMES THE FIRST HURRICANE OF THE 2008 ATLANTIC SEASON...

AT 500 AM AST...0900Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE BERTHA WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 19.3 NORTH...LONGITUDE 50.2 WEST OR ABOUT 845 MILES...
1365 KM...EAST OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS.

BERTHA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 17 MPH...28 KM/HR.
A CONTINUED WEST-NORTHWESTWARD MOTION WITH A GRADUAL DECREASE IN
FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...AS
BERTHA REMAINS OVER THE WATERS OF THE CENTRAL TROPICAL ATLANTIC.
IT IS STILL TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE IF BERTHA WILL EVENTUALLY AFFECT
ANY LAND AREAS.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED AND ARE NOW NEAR 75 MPH...120
KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SOME ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS
FORECAST DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 25 MILES...35 KM...FROM
THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 115
MILES...185 KM.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 987 MB...29.15 INCHES.

REPEATING THE 500 AM AST POSITION...19.3 N...50.2 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 17 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...75
MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...987 MB.

THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT
1100 AM AST.

$$
FORECASTER KNABB

1st Atlantic season hurricane becomes Category 3
1 hour, 35 minutes ago

MIAMI - Hurricane Bertha strengthened to a Category 3 storm Monday as it swirled in the central Atlantic, but it posed no immediate threat to land.

Forecasters expect the Atlantic season's first hurricane to head toward Bermuda. It was too early to tell whether the storm would hit the island, but residents were urged to monitor Bertha's progress.

At 11 p.m. Monday, the hurricane was located 695 miles east-northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands and about 1,085 miles southeast of Bermuda. It was moving west-northwest at about 12 mph. Maximum sustained winds were measured near 120 mph.

Daniel Brown, a forecaster at the National Hurricane Center, said Bertha was expected to stay at roughly the same intensity for the next day or two. "Conditions aren't going to change too much over the next couple days, so it will likely remain a strong hurricane," Brown said.

The hurricane center has projected 12 to 16 named storms in the Atlantic this season, with six to nine of them hurricanes.

The U.S. has not been hit by a major hurricane since 2005, the busiest season on record, which brought a destructive triple-punch of Katrina, Wilma and Rita ashore.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080708/...5Zm1lRyNSs0NUE

HURRICANE BERTHA
ADVISORY NUMBER 20
1100 PM AST MON JUL 07 2008

POWERFUL HURRICANE BERTHA OVER OPEN WATERS...

AT 1100 PM AST...0300Z...THE EYE OF HURRICANE BERTHA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 20.8 NORTH...LONGITUDE 52.8 WEST OR ABOUT 695 MILES... 1115 KM...EAST-NORTHEAST OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS AND ABOUT 1085 MILES...1745 KM...SOUTHEAST OF BERMUDA.

BERTHA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 12 MPH...19 KM/HR. A GRADUAL TURN TO THE NORTHWEST WITH A DECREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 24 TO 48 HOURS.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 120 MPH...195 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. BERTHA IS A CATEGORY THREE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE. FLUCTUATIONS IN INTENSITY ARE LIKELY DURING THE 12 TO 24 HOURS...FOLLOWED BY A GRADUAL WEAKENING.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 25 MILES...35 KM...FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 115 MILES...185 KM.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 952 MB...28.11 INCHES.

REPEATING THE 1100 PM AST POSITION...20.8 N...52.8 W.
MOVEMENT TOWARD...WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 12 MPH.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...120 MPH.
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...952 MB.

THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 500 AM AST.

$$
FORECASTER AVILA

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh...l/060232.shtml

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphi...023515W_sm.gif

With any luck, she will pass Bermuda and just wander around the Atlantic until she blows herself out. : Several did just that last year...