brought heavy surf and some flooding to southern Louisiana and Texas as it came ashore on the Gulf Coast for a second time Thursday, hours before weakening to a tropical depression.
The National Hurricane Center said wind gusts of tropical storm force were still possible along the upper Texas coast Thursday evening, and water levels in the area may remain high from storm surge. By late evening, the hurricane center declared Bertha had dissipated.
Its remnants are still expected to produce 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6 centimeters) of rainfall, with isolated totals up to 4 inches (10.1 centimeters) that could trigger flash flooding in coastal and south Texas, the hurricane center said.
Bertha first grazed southern Louisiana on Wednesday in a slow crawl westward. The storm weakened as it made its second landfall about 75 miles (115 kilometers) northeast of Galveston, Texas, on Thursday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said. It remained a tropical storm for a few hours before being downgraded to a depression, marked by maximum sustained winds of 38 mph (61 kph) or less.
Thick clouds associated with Bertha prompted SpaceX to call off Thursday evening鈥檚 planned Starship launch from the southern tip of Texas. The space-skimming test flight was rescheduled for Friday, when the forecast called for clear skies.
No deaths or significant damage have been reported since Bertha formed Monday in the Gulf of Mexico south of the Florida Panhandle. The storm caused some coastal flooding as its center first struck land Wednesday in Louisiana southwest of New Orleans, but its heaviest rains stayed over the Gulf waters.
That rainfall south of the storm’s center began moving inland along Texas’ southeastern coast Thursday afternoon. Tropical storm force winds on Thursday extended as far as 140 miles (225 kilometers) from the storm鈥檚 center, the hurricane center said.
A tropical storm warning was discontinued by evening from Sargent, Texas, to the Vermilion and Cameron Parish line in Louisiana.
Galveston businesses stay open as offic
ials predict a ‘windy day鈥�
In Galveston, an island city of 53,000 people southeast of Houston, local officials urged residents to brace for a 鈥渨indy day鈥� and secure any outdoor objects that might become airborne projectiles.
鈥淲hile no significant impacts are forecast, some gusty storms may blow through the island throughout the day,鈥� Galveston鈥檚 Office of Emergency Management said in a Facebook post Thursday.
The Galveston Historic Seaport canceled its sightseeing boat tours Thursday afternoon as a precaution, but was otherwise operating normally, said employee Jesi Hahn.
鈥淲e鈥檒l definitely be open,鈥� Hahn said. 鈥淲e usually close for big hurricanes.鈥�
At the nearby Harbor House Hotel and Marina, employee Justin Timber said he wasn鈥檛 aware of any canceled reservations.
鈥淚t seems like a normal day,鈥� he said. 鈥淩estaurants are clicking. Everything鈥檚 great.鈥�
In Florida, storm damages a boardwalk and topples a Waffle House sign
Electrical outages across the Gulf Coast were minimal, according to the website Still, Bertha鈥檚 passage wasn鈥檛 harmless.
In Pensacola, Florida, officials closed an area around a storm-damaged beach boardwalk, Mayor D.C. Reeves said Thursday on Facebook. He posted a photo showing part of the boardwalk鈥檚 support structure ripped away and a fence damaged nearby.
Strong gales earlier in the week knocked over a Waffle House sign onto a car in Panama City Beach, Florida. Heavy surf and the threat of rip tides had prompted warnings at Gulf Coast beaches for swimmers to
Bertha is the second . Tropical Storm Arthur brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern U.S.
In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned far from land Thursday. The was more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph).
The hurricane center said swells generated by Fausto could cause life-threatening surf and rip tides in parts of southern California.
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia, and Thanawala reported from Atlanta. AP journalist Marcia Dunn in Cape Canaveral, Florida, contributed.
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