Around May 25, a weak low pressure center formed near southern Florida along a trough extending westward into the Gulf of Mexico and eastward into the Atlantic. Over the next few days, the rains associated with the system inundated portions of south Florida. More than five inches of rainfall fell in just a few hours in a few locations that day. On May 26, the low emerged over water east of northern Florida, but upper level winds were quite strong, hampering tropical development. The situation changed drastically in a short time, however, and wind shear relaxed. During the morning of May 27, thunderstorm activity blossomed near the center of circulation and the low suddenly became a tropical cyclone. Radar and buoy data indicated it already had gale force winds, so the system was classified Tropical Storm Bertha.
When it was named, Bertha was merely a couple dozen miles off the coast of South Carolina, moving northwest. It reached its peak intensity of 50 mph winds and a minimum pressure of 1004 mb at the time of landfall that same morning. Pushing inland quickly, the storm weakened to a tropical depression that afternoon. Localized flooding occurred along the storm's path over inland North Carolina into the southern Appalachians. Bertha was downgraded to a remnant low early on May 28 and dissipated later that day near western Pennsylvania.
This image shows Bertha near the time of its landfall in South Carolina.
Because it formed so close to land, Bertha spent only one day as a tropical cyclone. Nevertheless, with its formation, 2020 became the first season since 2012 to feature two named storms in the month of May.
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