On May 25, the NHC began to track thunderstorms associated with an elongated surface trough located over Florida and the adjoining Atlantic Ocean for potential development into a tropical cyclone, but did not expect formation due to strong upper-level winds and the high potential for the disturbance to move inland.
However, contrary to predictions, the system organized after moving northwards, which in turn was contributed to an increase convection and winds within the system.
Based on NWS Doppler radar data from Charleston and buoy data, the NHC initiated advisories on Tropical Storm Bertha at 1200 UTC on May 27.
Bertha continued to rapidly strengthen despite its proximity to land.
One hour after the first advisory was issued, Bertha made landfall on the South Carolina coast with winds of 50 mph (80 km/h).
From formation until landfall, Bertha had an unusually small field of gale-force winds, stretching only 25 miles from the center.
Bertha began to weaken rapidly once inland, becoming a tropical depression just hours after landfall.
Bertha quickly degenerated to a post-tropical remnant over West Virginia at 9:00 UTC on May 28.
The remnants of this storm transitioned into an extratropical cyclone and enlarged in size.
The cyclone, associated with a cold front brought heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and flooding to the Great Lakes region before being absorbed by a larger extratropical system a day later over southern Quebec.
On May 25, the NHC began to track thunderstorms associated with an elongated surface trough located over Florida and the adjoining Atlantic Ocean for potential development into a tropical cyclone, but did not expect formation due to strong upper-level winds and the high potential for the disturbance to move inland. However, contrary to predictions, the system organized after moving northwards, which in turn was contributed to an increase convection and winds within the system. Based on NWS Doppler radar data from Charleston and buoy data, the NHC initiated advisories on Tropical Storm Bertha at 1200 UTC on May 27. Bertha continued to rapidly strengthen despite its proximity to land. One hour after the first advisory was issued, Bertha made landfall on the South Carolina coast with winds of 50 mph (80 km/h). From formation until landfall, Bertha had an unusually small field of gale-force winds, stretching only 25 miles from the center. Bertha began to weaken rapidly once inland, becoming a tropical depression just hours after landfall. Bertha quickly degenerated to a post-tropical remnant over West Virginia at 9:00 UTC on May 28. The remnants of this storm transitioned into an extratropical cyclone and enlarged in size. The cyclone, associated with a cold front brought heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and flooding to the Great Lakes region before being absorbed by a larger extratropical system a day later over southern Quebec.
Tropical Storm Bertha (2020)