Gulf Coast communities prepare as Tropical Storm Bertha's outer bands begin to lash coastline

MOBILE, Ala. — Gulf Coast states are preparing for Tropical Storm Bertha, which is acceptable to present life-threatening storm surge, tropical downpours and gusty winds to parts of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, with impacts expanding done the time connected Wednesday.

TROPICAL STORM BERTHA STRENGTHENS, THREATENS GULF COAST WITH HEAVY RAIN, STORM SURGE AND SQUALLS

Satellite imagery of Tropical Storm Bertha connected Tuesday, July 21, 2026.

(CIRA / FOX Weather)

The Louisiana Health Department urged radical connected Monday to reappraisal their exigency plans and banal up connected supplies.

TIMELINE: WHEN YOU WILL SEE THE FIRST IMPACTS OF TROPICAL STORM BERTHA IN THE SOUTHEAST

The City of New Orleans advised residents to implicit their tempest preparations by Tuesday and wide drawback basins astir their properties.

Louisiana State University (LSU) began monitoring Bertha erstwhile it was inactive a tropical depression.

Entergy, Louisiana's largest electrical utility, said it volition supply unrecorded updates of immoderate powerfulness outages and asked radical to person their exigency kits ready.

TRACK BERTHA: LIVE RADAR, FLOOD THREAT, WIND SPEED AND RADAR

Meanwhile, vigor institution Chevron told FOX Weather it had moved each unit from its Petronius level onshore.

The institution said it besides moved radical from its Tubular Bells and Blind Faith platforms.

"Chevron volition proceed to intimately show the storm. We stay focused connected the information of our workforce, the integrity of our facilities and the extortion of the environment," Chevron said successful a statement.

Alabama's Emergency Management Agency shared accusation connected assembling a catastrophe proviso kit and Mobile County asked radical to enactment retired of the h2o owed to the High Rip Current Risk caused by Bertha.

The City of Orange Beach, Alabama, urged residents and spot owners to unafraid boats and escaped outdoor furnishings successful mentation for immoderate imaginable tempest surge flooding.

Check backmost for updates connected this processing story.