Tropical Storm Bertha (2002)

Basin

North Atlantic

Dates

August 4, 2002 to August 9, 2002

Peak strength

Tropical Storm, 35 kt (40 mph)

Lowest pressure

1007 mb (29.74 inHg)

Landfall

Yes

Accumulated cyclone energy

0.2

Tropical-storm-force wind reached

50 nmi (93 km, 58 mi) from the center at its widest

Eyewall radius at its peak

35 nmi (65 km, 40 mi)

Overall size

175 nmi (324 km, 201 mi) to the outermost closed isobar

Fastest the center moved

11 kt (13 mph)

Identifier

AL022002

Radar at KCRP as it neared land, Aug 9, 08:00 UTC

The sources count different things and are not added together.

Landfall points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.

NOAA’s Storm Events database, the record National Weather Service offices compile months after a storm, as compiled March 2026.

Deaths

1 (1 direct, 0 indirect)

Injuries

0

Property damage

$200,000

Crop damage

none recorded

Events recorded

21 in 7 reports from 4 states and marine areas

State by state

What was recorded

13 tropical storm, 4 marine thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 1 rip current.

The Weather Prediction Center attributes 643 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 10.25 inches (260 mm).

WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.

The strongest winds National Weather Service offices recorded with this storm. An estimated figure is a forecaster’s judgment from the damage, not an instrument reading.

From the Storm Events narratives, unedited.

A 54 year old Louisiana man died after he and his two grandchildren were pulled from rough surf at Perdido State Park. The surf was churned up by an area of low pressure moving across the Gulf that later became Tropical Storm Bertha. The drowning occurred along an isolated spot of the beach where there are no life guards and no flag system is in place. The man's grandchildren got into trouble in the strong rip currents produced by the rough surf. He jumped into the water to rescue them and drowned in the rough water. Another family was able to eventually get all three ashore, but the man died.

Escambia, Florida · Rip Current · Aug 4, 21:30 UTC

The remnant circulation of Tropical Storm Bertha continued to affect southeast Louisiana with several bands of heavy rainfall. Between 5 to 8 inches of rain occurred in northern St. Tammany Parish during the morning hours resulting in flash flooding on small streams and flooding of several main roadways in northern St. Tammany Parish.

St. Tammany, Louisiana · Flash Flood · Aug 6, 10:00 UTC

The remnant circulation from Tropical Storm Bertha continued to affect southeast Louisiana with a few areas of intense rainfall. Between 5 and 8 inches of rain fell across East Feliciana parish during the late morning and early afternoon resulting in flash flooding on small streams, flooded roadways, and some damage to bridges due to high water. A few businesses in Clinton and residences in Wilson were flooded by high water.

East Feliciana, Louisiana · Flash Flood · Aug 6, 18:30 UTC

• Tropical Storm ArthurNorth Atlantic · 2002Tropical Storm50 kt · 992 mb
• Tropical Storm CristobalNorth Atlantic · 2002Tropical Storm45 kt · 999 mb
• Tropical Storm DollyNorth Atlantic · 2002Tropical Storm50 kt · 997 mb
• Tropical Storm EdouardNorth Atlantic · 2002Tropical Storm55 kt · 1002 mb
• Tropical Storm FayNorth Atlantic · 2002Tropical Storm50 kt · 998 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2002Tropical Depression30 kt · 1013 mb
• Hurricane GustavNorth Atlantic · 2002Cat 285 kt · 960 mb
• Tropical Storm HannaNorth Atlantic · 2002Tropical Storm50 kt · 1001 mb
• Hurricane IsidoreNorth Atlantic · 2002Cat 3110 kt · 934 mb
• Tropical Storm JosephineNorth Atlantic · 2002Tropical Storm50 kt · 1004 mb
• Hurricane KyleNorth Atlantic · 2002Cat 175 kt · 980 mb
• Hurricane LiliNorth Atlantic · 2002Cat 4125 kt · 938 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2002Tropical Depression30 kt · 1002 mb

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.

• Tropical cyclone report, National Hurricane Center
• Every advisory and discussion NHC issued while it was live
• Wikipedia article: Tropical Storm Bertha