All eyes are on Tropical Storm Bertha, which strengthened from a tropical depression on Monday evening to become the second named storm of the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season as it continues to move towards the northern Gulf Coast of the United States.

As of 7 am CDT (1200 UTC), the centre of Bertha was located about 175 miles (280 kilometres) southeast of Mobile, Alabama, moving northwest at 5 mph (7 km/h) with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h).

Forecasters expect Bertha to continue on a slow northwestward to west-northwestward track today before turning west by the middle of the week, bringing it near or along the northern Gulf Coast over the next several days.

Tropical storm warnings remain in effect for parts of the northern Gulf Coast, while tropical storm watches are in place for portions of the Florida Panhandle and Louisiana.

Tropical storm conditions are expected to develop in warning areas by late Tuesday into Wednesday.

The US National Hurricane Center said Bertha could produce two to four inches (50 to 100 millimetres) of rain, with isolated totals of up to six inches (150 millimetres), across parts of western Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and southern Louisiana through Thursday, raising the risk of flash flooding, particularly in urban areas.

Storm surge of two to four feet is possible along parts of the northern Gulf Coast, while dangerous surf and rip current conditions are expected to spread westward along the coastline as the system approaches.

NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft were investigating Bertha on Tuesday morning as forecasters continued to monitor its strength and track.