World · Louisiana · ArchiveTropical Storm Bertha Targets Louisiana with Rare Storm-Heat Double ThreatAired July 22, 2026 at 4:53 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Tropical Storm Bertha is closing in on0:02the Louisiana coast and it is bringing a0:03rare and dangerous combination with it.0:06Not just storm surge and heavy rain, but0:07extreme heat on top of it all. The0:10second named storm of the 2026 Atlantic0:12hurricane season formed Monday and it is0:14expected to make landfall in0:16southeastern Louisiana around 5:00 p.m.0:18Central today with maximum sustained0:20winds of 50 mph moving west at just 50:22mph. A tropical storm warning is in0:25effect from the Okaloosa-Walton County0:27line in the Florida Panhandle all the0:29way to Morgan City, Louisiana. That0:31includes New Orleans and Lake0:32Pontchartrain. A tropical storm watch0:34extends west to Sargent, Texas. The0:37storm is hugging the coast and that slow0:39track means it is going to keep dumping0:40rain and pushing water ashore for hours.0:43But here's what makes this storm0:45especially dangerous. It is happening0:47during an extreme heat event. The0:49National Weather Service has issued a0:51simultaneous extreme heat warning for0:53the New Orleans area with heat indices0:55expected to reach 110 to 115°0:59Fahrenheit. That means any power outages1:01could leave residents without air1:03conditioning during life-threatening1:04heat conditions. Storm surge of 2 to 41:07ft is expected from the mouth of the1:09Mississippi River to the Alabama-Florida1:11line with 1 to 3 ft elsewhere. Rainfall1:13totals of 1 to 4 in are forecast with1:16isolated spots seeing up to 6 in1:18bringing a flash flood risk. But again,1:20it is that heat overlay that has1:21officials most concerned. The city of1:23New Orleans has closed every floodgate.1:25The Sewerage and Water Board has1:26deployed extra staff at all pumping1:29stations. Plaquemines Parish has1:31declared a state of emergency and St.1:33Bernard Parish officials are asking1:35residents to move their boats inside the1:37levee system. Several universities have1:39moved to virtual learning for the day.1:41Loyola, LSU New Orleans, and Southern1:43University New Orleans are among them.1:45The storm's slow track could lead to a1:47second landfall along the Texas coast on1:49Friday. And beyond that, meteorologists1:52are watching a moisture plume that could1:54sweep into the Mid-Atlantic and the1:55Carolinas later this week potentially1:58bringing 4 to 6 inches or more of rain2:00to areas that do not need it.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗