07/21 Ryan’s “More Heat & Bertha Update” Tuesday Morning Forecast

We're in for another hot day today, but all eyes are on what's going on with Tropical Storm Bertha.

We’re in for more dangerous heat and humidity today, but most of the attention in the weather world is on what’s happening with Tropical Storm Bertha. Let’s get the local heat out of the way first. We’re once again looking at a high near 97° in the Gulfport/Biloxi area, which means heat indices reaching around ~110°. That’s firmly in Heat Advisory territory, and pretty close to Heat Warning territory. Still, it isn’t all that different from what we’ve seen anytime recently and actually a little cooler than what we saw over the weekend, but I’d still ask everyone to practice their heat and sun safety if outside today. Stay hydrated!

In regards to Bertha, the official NHC track has not shifted significantly, still bringing the storm close to the coastline over the next day before high pressure building in from the NW forces the storm further south and westward. This is also contributing to bringing dry air and significant wind shear into the equation, which is forcing the bulk of the rainfall to the southern half of the storm…potentially only bringing sparse rainfall inland. Coastal flooding remains the biggest concern, with 2-4′ of storm surge expected along with ~1.5′ of high tide Wednesday morning.