The Gulf Coast is on alert as Tropical Storm Bertha churns toward populated areas, threatening flooding rain, dangerous storm surge and damaging wind gusts, while Hurricane Fausto has strengthened in the eastern Pacific but poses no immediate threat to land.
Bertha, the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, formed Monday evening and was about 140 miles (225 kilometers) south of Panama City, Florida. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was expected to strengthen as it edges toward the northern Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
