ABC13 Weather Watch: Bertha brings scattered downpours and some gusty winds to Southeast Texas today

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Tropical Storm Bertha is moving across the upper Texas coast today, and we have an ABC13 Weather Watch for the possibility of strong storms and wind gusts over 40 mph.

Bertha also has the added bonus of some heat relief for most of Southeast Texas. The clouds have already swirled into Houston, helping to keep highs closer to 90 than 100.

Away from Bertha's clouds northwest of Houston, it's another hot afternoon with highs in the mid to upper 90s. Feels like temperatures will range between 105-110, and a Heat Advisory has been issued for these counties until 7 pm: Walker, Brazos, Washington, Grimes, Montgomery, Colorado, Austin, Waller and Wharton.

A Tropical Storm Warning has also been issued along the coast by the National Hurricane Center. Coastal sections of Brazoria and Galveston County as well as all of Chambers County are included. This means that tropical storm condition are likely as Bertha moves through this afternoon and evening. Tropical-storm-force wind gusts over 40 mph are possible with rough waters and Gulf waves of 6-9 feet.

Disruptions and impacts form Bertha will be minimal for most of us. The breeze will pick up a bit with scattered showers and thunderstorms blowing through in the afternoon and evening. Where it does rain, totals will generally run less than an inch, but higher totals are possible south of Houston closer to Matagorda Bay. The winds could gust around 40-50 mph along our coast, with wind gusts between 30-40 mph possible in Houston.

How long will Bertha stick around?

We will be mostly done with Bertha by Friday morning.

What should we expect for the weekend?

Any moisture from Tropical Storm Bertha will be long gone, so rain chances will hover near 10% as highs heat back into the upper 90s. Multiple triple-digit-days are likely next week.

What else are you tracking in the tropics?

Our focus right now is on the Gulf and Bertha as there are no other tropical threats at this time. Visit our Tropical Update page for a more in-depth tropical weather discussion and forecast.

13 ALERT RADAR MAPS:
Southeast Texas
Houston
Harris County
Galveston County
Montgomery/Walker/San Jacinto/Polk/Grimes Counties
Fort Bend/Wharton/Colorado Counties
Brazoria/Matagorda Counties

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