The latest storm news from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that the tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico has strengthened into Hurricane Bertha, the 2nd storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season.
Currently, the latest storm of the storm season is about 177km south of Panama City, Florida, USA and about 305km southeast of Mobile, Alabama, USA. The storm is moving northwest at a speed of nearly 5 km/h.
Tropical storm warnings have been issued along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Forecasts of strong winds, heavy rain and dangerous wave conditions may develop until July 21, the storm bulletin noted.
US National Hurricane Center hurricane forecasters noted that Hurricane Bertha "is expected to cause rain from 50-100mm, locally up to about 203mm until July 24 along the Gulf of Mexico coast and neighboring inland areas from west Florida to central Texas coast, including southern areas of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. This rainfall is sufficient to cause flash floods, especially in urban areas".
If heavy rain moves further west into the Texas Hill Country, AccuWeather warns there will be higher concerns about flash floods due to the terrain and recent severe floods in the area.
Storm No. 2 Bertha appeared about a month after Storm No. 1 Arthur formed in the Gulf of Mexico.
Forecasters predict that the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season will be below normal activity, largely due to the weakening impact of the El Nino phenomenon.
According to the forecast for the 2026 hurricane season by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), it is expected that there will be 8-14 named storms, of which 3-6 will strengthen into Category 1 hurricanes.
An average typical year has about 14 storms in the Atlantic, of which 7 storms have strengthened into Category 1 hurricanes, according to weather data from 1991 to 2020.
Meanwhile, in the Pacific, the 2026 storm season is expected to be vibrant.
In the eastern Pacific basin, storm Fausto - a storm formed immediately after storm Elida - is continuing to strengthen, expected to become a Category 1 hurricane today (July 21).
Fausto has maximum sustained winds of 112 km/h and is located about 1,198km southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. The storm is moving northwest at a speed of about 16 km/h and is forecast to continue to accelerate in the next few days.
US storm forecasters say Fausto may experience a rapid intensification phase as it moves through warm seas. Strong tropical storm winds are spreading up to 225km from the eye of the storm.
It is forecast that storm Fausto will not make landfall, but it may cause large waves and dangerous strong currents in the western coastal area of the Baja California peninsula on July 22.
