Bertha makes landfall in South Carolina, heavy rain and intense winds expected
Bertha is the second named storm of what is expected to be an above-average season.
Bertha, the second named storm of the 2020 season, roared to life and made landfall in South Carolina as a tropical storm and is set to bring heavy rain and strong winds to the state.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said it had made landfall at 9:30 a.m. with winds of 80 km/h before it became a tropical depression on Wednesday afternoon.
Aside from the winds, people in the impacted regions should prepare for heavy rainfall. A widespread 50-100 mm is possible, reaching up to 200 mm in parts of South Carolina, North Carolina and southwest Virginia, according to the NHC.
Aside from the second named storm of 2020, it's also the second to appear prior to the season's "official" start of June 1st. Earlier in May, Tropical Storm Arthur churned off the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, though it did not make landfall and had a minimal impact on land.
It's possibly a harbinger of things to come: the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting an above-average season for Atlantic hurricanes, with some 13-19 named storms, including 6-10 hurricanes.
