Tropical Storm Bertha expected to form Monday off Florida coast

Key Points:

• Tropical Depression Two, located about 110 miles south of Panama City, is expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Bertha later today or tonight, bringing heavy rain and thunderstorms to Florida's west coast, Big Bend, and Panhandle regions.
• Forecasters do not anticipate the system becoming a hurricane due to the presence of Saharan dust and strong wind shear, which are limiting its intensification; however, it may produce 2 to 4 inches of rain, with isolated amounts up to 8 inches, potentially causing flash flooding.
• Tropical storm watches are in effect from the Ochlockonee River in North Florida to the Mississippi/Alabama border, and a storm surge watch is active from the Alabama/Florida border to the mouth of the Mississippi River, with life-threatening surf and rip current conditions expected along the Gulf Coast.
• The depression is moving slowly northwestward at 3 mph and is forecast to track near or along the northern Gulf Coast over the next several days, with possible isolated tornadoes in the Florida Big Bend area today.
• The National Hurricane Center is also monitoring two other tropical waves in the Atlantic and Caribbean, but neither currently shows significant convection or development potential; the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season runs through November 30, with peak activity typically in mid-August to mid-October.