Storm‑Wet Southeast Faces New Flood Risk

The tropical storm that once called itself Bertha has faded, but the wet air it left behind remains a danger.

Texas: A Quiet End

In Texas, the storm concluded with only a few heavy showers, primarily near Houston.

A patch of that moisture has adhered to a slow front moving across the Southeast.
The front is now stalled, causing rain to linger over the same spot longer.

Afternoon thunderstorms swept through northern Alabama and Georgia, dropping 1–2 inches of rain in a short period.
This triggered flash‑flood warnings in Birmingham and Atlanta.
While rain is needed to break a long drought, excess rainfall can cause floods.
If the ground cannot absorb 2 inches per hour, water will accumulate.
Some areas could see over 4 inches of rain in a day—roughly the amount most cities receive in an entire month.
Myrtle Beach averages 5.4 inches of rain in July alone.

The risk extends from the coastal Carolinas to inland towns like Sumter, South Carolina and Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Other parts of the Southeast may also experience heavy rain that could flood on Saturday.

Day	Event	Impact
Wednesday	Bertha’s moisture poured into the Southeast and southern Virginia.	Up to 5 inches of rain in a few hours north of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Wednesday	Flash‑flood warnings for Greensboro and Winston‑Salem after 6 inches fell in 12 hours.	No flooding reported; dry ground helped absorb water.
Thursday	A brief closure of a section of Interstate 40 near Durham, North Carolina due to flooding.
Thursday	Bertha’s final landfall near the Texas‑Louisiana border.	Minor flooding and rough seas along the Gulf Coast.

First touched land in southeast Louisiana on Wednesday.
Wind gusts over 40 mph at New Orleans Lakefront Airport.
Moved west along the Louisiana coast before making its final landfall near the Texas‑Louisiana border on Thursday.
Only the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which has been slower than recent years due to El Niño’s influence on the basin.