Hurricane Bertha (1996)

Hurricane Bertha

Category 3 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Bertha shortly after peak intensity north of Hispaniola on July 9
Formed	July 5, 1996
Dissipated	July 18, 1996
(Extratropical after July 14)
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 115 mph (185 km/h)
Lowest pressure	960 mbar (hPa); 28.35 inHg
Fatalities	12
Damage	$335 million (1996 USD)
Areas affected	Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, North Carolina, Mid-Atlantic States, New England
Part of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Bertha was an intense and early-forming major hurricane that affected areas from the Leeward Islands to the United States in July of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season. The second tropical cyclone and named storm during the season, Bertha originated from a tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa in early July. Steadily organizing while moving generally towards the west, the disturbance was designated as a tropical depression at 0000 UTC on July 5, and was further upgraded to a tropical storm by 1200 UTC later that day. Over the next few days, continued intensification occurred, and Bertha became a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, the first hurricane of the season, prior to moving through the northern Leeward Islands. Late on July 8, a period of rapid intensification began, and at 0600 UTC on July 9, Bertha reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) with a minimum barometric pressure of 960 mbar (28 inHg). Moving around the western periphery of the subtropical ridge, Bertha passed north of the Bahamas as a weakening hurricane before turning towards the north-northeast and undergoing another period of rapid intensification. Late on July 12, Bertha made landfall between Wrightsville Beach and Topsail Beach, North Carolina with winds of 90 mph (140 km/h). Gradual weakening ensued the following day as Bertha moved up the Mid-Atlantic and into New England before becoming an extratropical cyclone on July 14.