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Bertha Builds To Category 3 Status

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By NEIL JOHNSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 8, 2008

TAMPA - TAMPA - Hurricane Bertha surprised forecasters by jumping from a storm with 90 mph winds to a Category 3 hurricane with winds of about 115 mph.

Early Monday, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Bertha should swell to about 105 mph, possibly by Monday night. That would have made Bertha a Category 2 hurricane.

Instead, Bertha jumped two categories in six hours.

The storm slowed slightly, moving at about 12 mph. Forecasters said the storm will slow further as it begins an expected turn toward the north.

Monday afternoon, Bertha started making that turn, making an impact on the coast of the United States less likely.
Forecasters cannot say the same about whether the season's first hurricane will hit Bermuda. Monday afternoon, Bertha was about 1,110 miles southeast of the island and moving west northwest.

The storm is likely to take a more northerly track by midweek as an area of high pressure to the storm's north that has kept Bertha on a mostly westward track weakens.

The hurricane center does not expect Bertha to maintain its Category 3 status long. It is moving through an area of low shear but that should change by the middle of the week. Forecasters said Bertha should gradually weaken by late today or early Wednesday.
Forecasters also said the storm's intensity could fluctuate over the next day or two.

After that, forecasters say the steering currents around Bertha could weaken, making track forecasts three or four days from now less certain.

Bertha became the season's first hurricane early Monday morning.

Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731 or njohnson@tampatrib.com.

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