Updated
Updated · CNN · Jul 23
Bertha Moisture Fuels Level 2 Flood Risk Through Friday Across 4 States
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jul 23

Bertha Moisture Fuels Level 2 Flood Risk Through Friday Across 4 States

3 articles · Updated · CNN · Jul 23

Summary

  • A Level 2 of 4 flooding-rain risk remains in place through Friday from the Carolinas into northern Georgia and Alabama, even as Bertha weakened to a depression near Houston.
  • Bertha’s tropical moisture is feeding a slow-moving cold front across the Southeast, with thunderstorms capable of dumping rain at rates up to 2 inches per hour.
  • North Carolina has already seen some areas pick up a month’s worth of rain in a few days; storms dropped up to 6 inches in 12 hours near Greensboro and Winston-Salem, while part of Interstate 40 near Durham briefly closed.
  • Flash flood warnings were also issued in southeast Virginia, eastern Tennessee and parts of North Carolina, with Atlanta, Birmingham and Charlotte among cities still at risk.
  • Closer to Bertha, eastern Texas faces a lesser threat: 1 to 3 inches of rain, isolated 4-inch totals and only isolated flash flooding as dry ground limits impacts.

Insights

With a 'below-normal' 2026 hurricane season forecast, are cities becoming complacent about extreme rainfall from weaker storms?
When drought-stricken cities face deluges, can new green infrastructure turn a flooding crisis into a water-saving solution?