The second named tropical system of the year, Tropical Storm Bertha, quickly formed and made landfall Wednesday morning four days before the 2020 hurricane season.
Bertha had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and is 40 miles east of Charleston, South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 11:00 a.m. update. By 2 p.m. it had moved inland and become a tropical depression with 35 mph winds and all tropical warnings had been discontinued.
The storm, which dumped tons of rain over the state earlier in the week, is not predicted to further impact Florida.
Bertha continues to move over the eastern and northern portions of South Carolina and into west-central North Carolina area by Wednesday afternoon.
The storm could produce life-threatening flash flooding across the eastern portions of South Carolina.
Bertha’s formation is a surprise to many, as the storm was predicted on Tuesday to have a 20 percent chance of tropical development within the next two to five days. Odds were low due to upper level wind sheer causing disruption to the system’s organization.
However, the system developed quickly overnight and gained a 70 percent chance of favorable development sometime after the NHC’s 5 a.m. update.
Bertha was officially named just after 8 a.m. Wednesday, but the NHC has not yet addressed the reason for Bertha’s fast formation.
June 1st is the start of hurricane season, but already 2020 has had two named storms ahead of the official start with Arthur having formed earlier this month in the Atlantic. The early formations mark the sixth year in a row an early storm has formed.
Bertha’s formation is the sixth time in recorded history that two named storms formed either on or before May 27 and ahead of the season’s start.
The 2016 season was the last time it occurred with the formations of Hurricane Alex; which formed in January, and Tropical Storm Bonnie; which formed on May 27.
The other seasons include 1887 1908, 1951 and 2012, according to Colorado State University meteorologist Phil Klozbach.