2008 Season has begun - Tropical Storm Bertha

Bertha's current location:
http://www.noaawatch.gov/2008/bertha.php

5 day forecast of the storm:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at2+shtml/145312.shtml?5day#contents

Maybe we'll be lucky and she'll stay a TS, not veer off course, and give NC and GA some sorely needed rain in a few days.

Does anyone know if this is going to be an "active" year for tropical storms?

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Bertha continues to strengthen as it moves over the central Atlantic Ocean.As
of 11 a.m. EDT Monday, the Atlantic season's first hurricane was
centered about 775 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands. National
Hurricane Center forecasters say Bertha is expected to turn in the
general direction of Bermuda.It's still to early to tell whether Bertha will hit the island, but forecasters urged residents to monitor the storm's progress.Maximum
sustained winds have increased to speeds of 90 mph with higher gusts.
Some strengthening is expected during the next 24 hours, and
forecasters say Bertha could become a Category 2 hurricane later Monday.Bertha is headed west-northwest at about 15 mph and is expected to slow down in the next couple of days.

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Hurricane Bertha -- the first
hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic season -- began a shift in direction
Tuesday morning, a day after growing to Category 3 status, according to
the National Hurricane Center.


A satellite picture from 5:45 a.m. ET Monday shows Hurricane Bertha over the Atlantic.

While Bertha's power may fluctuate over the next day, the storm is
expected to begin gradually weakening by Wednesday, the center said.
Bertha became a major -- or Category 3 -- hurricane Monday afternoon.

A Category 3 has wind speeds of 111 to 130 mph.
As predicted, the eye of the hurricane began a shift toward the
northwest and slowed a bit early Tuesday, the hurricane center said at
5 a.m. ET. At that hour, Bertha was 675 miles east-northeast of
the northern Leeward Islands and 1,035 miles southeast of Bermuda. The
eye was moving toward the northwest at about 10 mph.
Bertha's maximum sustained winds were clocked at 120 mph, the 5 a.m. advisory said.

There is a very small chance Bertha will make landfall in the United
States. Bermuda could be affected by the hurricane this weekend.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Hurricane Bertha weakened rapidly as it
headed in the direction of Bermuda on Tuesday, just a day after
suddenly burgeoning into the first major hurricane of the 2008
Atlantic storm season, forecasters said.


Bertha had begun a northerly turn that would likely spare
the U.S. East Coast from a hurricane or tropical storm strike,
the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.



The Gulf of Mexico, where the United States produces a
third of its domestic crude oil and a large amount of its
natural gas, was well out of the firing line.


Bertha, which on Monday became a powerful Category 3
hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, had dropped
back to Category 1 by 5 p.m. EDT on Tuesday with top sustained
winds of 85 mph, the Miami-based center said in an advisory.



"Bertha's rapid intensification yesterday has been equaled
by its rapid weakening today," it said. "Such intensity
fluctuations remain a forecasting challenge and serve as an
important reminder for the uncertainties associated with
intensity forecasts."



The center said Bertha could weaken further in the next 24
hours as cooler waters, dry air and unfavorable atmospheric
wind conditions affected the storm. But some computer models
showed the hurricane regaining some strength after that.



The wealthy mid-Atlantic British colony of Bermuda would
have to continue to keep an eye on the storm as it drifted
toward the island, a major center for the world's reinsurance
industry, the hurricane center said.



By 5 p.m. Bertha was about 900 miles southeast of Bermuda
and moving toward the northwest at 12 mph, the center said.



Forecasters have predicted an average or above-average
six-month hurricane season this year, although nothing like
record-busting 2005 when 28 tropical storms formed, including
Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Bertha churns northward in central Atlantic



MIAMI (AFP) — Category-two Hurricane Bertha edged northward in the
central Atlantic early Thursday posing a possible threat to Bermuda,
the US National Hurricane Center said.
With sustained winds
blowing at 165 kilometers (105 miles) per hour, at 5:00 am (0900 GMT)
the first full hurricane of the 2008 season was located about 875
kilometers (545 miles) southeast of Bermuda.
The storm was moving
in a northwesterly direction at 15 kilometers (nine miles) per hour and
was expected to strengthen and turn in a more northerly direction in
the next couple of days, the Miami-based NHC said.Current projections show it passing well to the east of Bermuda on Sunday-Monday.
"It
is still too early to determine the extent to which Bertha could impact
Bermuda. Interests on that island should closely monitor the progress
of Bertha during the next several days," the NHS said.
On
Wednesday Bermuda's Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) urged
travelers not to let the storm dampen vacation plans to the popular
holiday isles.
"It is anticipated that at that time (Sunday),
Hurricane Bertha will weaken and Bermuda will only experience tropical
storm winds, in which case Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport
will remain open for travelers," the EMO said.

Tropical Storm Bertha Rakes Bermuda

By ELIZABETH ROBERTS,
AP
Posted: 2008-07-14 19:22:01
Filed Under: World News
HAMILTON, Bermuda
(July 14) - Tropical Storm Bertha raked Bermuda with high winds Monday
while kicking up choppy surf along the East Coast of the United States.
U.S. forecasters warned that the system was close to regaining
hurricane strength.

The Weather Underground / AP
Tropical Storm Bertha churns off the coast of Bermuda Monday.

The streets of Hamilton were empty and all ferries and flights were canceled in the British territory. Most businesses closed and there were sporadic power outages
from downed cables as well as minor flooding in low-lying areas. There
were no reports of injuries.

Retiree Barbara Richardson rode out the storm in her home in the southern parish of Warwick, where electricity was knocked out for about an hour.

"The wind was howling pretty bad there for a while, but now it's calming down," Richardson said. "We've seen worse here."

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the center of the storm was 65
miles northeast of the Atlantic island late Monday afternoon with
sustained winds near 70 mph and higher gusts.

Atlantic Season Storm Names 2008
NASA / AP

Above,
a 2006 hurricane is photographed by a crew member on board the Space
Shuttle Atlantis. Arthur, Bertha and Cristobal are the first three
Atlantic storm names for 2008. Click through the gallery to see the rest of the list.[img(29,29)]http://www.aolcdn.com/aol/lbg-next-btn[/img

Bertha is expected to strengthen into a hurricane during the next 24 hours, according to the hurricane center.

Dangerous rip currents were occurring along the U.S. East Coast from the
Carolinas through southern New England, according to the hurricane center. Officials said that may have contributed to at least one drowning Saturday along a New Jersey beach.

Bertha was swirling north at near 9 mph. It was expected to bring 3-5 inches of rain to
Bermuda. A turn to the northeast was expected Tuesday, with a turn to the east expected Wednesday.

Bertha became the Atlantic season's first hurricane on July 7.

Meanwhile, Elida became the second hurricane of the Eastern Pacific region's
season, scattering rains across Mexico's central coast.

Copyright
2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news
report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise
distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated
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2008-07-14 12:39:18