Bertha – First hurricane of the Atlantic season by Steph Ball
Bermudians will be keeping a watchful eye on Hurricane Bertha, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season to form.
When Bertha first strengthened into a tropical storm on July 3rd, it became a rare early season Cape Verde-type storm. Cape Verde storms are so named because they form in the island chain off Africa's west coast. While tracking west across the Atlantic they have plenty of time and warm waters to gain strength before reaching the US. Bertha is also the farthest east that a tropical storm has ever developed in July.
Over the last few days Bertha has steamed across the Atlantic gathering strength and on Monday morning gained hurricane status as winds topped 70mph (113km/h). Bertha is currently positioned some 1000 miles southeast of Bermuda and since yesterday has intensified to a powerful category 3 hurricane according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Winds early Tuesday morning have intensified to 120mph (193km/h) with higher gusts.
The National Hurricane Center’s latest forecast has Bertha maintaining its hurricane status over the next few days. While it poses no immediate effect on land, Bertha is expected to approach Bermuda this weekend. It is too early to depict whether it will make landfall but residents have been advised to monitor its progress.
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