Galveston County officials monitor Bertha as tropical storm watch takes effect 12%
By Julianna Washburn21% Galveston County Bureau21%
7/22/2026, 8:57:10 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 10 faulty reasoning types, including Pessimism Bias, Overconfidence Bias, and Confirmation Bias, with Indoctrination as the most egregious example at 19.4% saturation with 81 hits. Analysis detected 257 faulty-reasoning hits from 417 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 29% and a BS Rank of 12% (17,797 of 20,094 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 88.60% of the article peer group.
Galveston County officials are keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Bertha as it moves west through the Gulf.
As of Wednesday, officials with the Galveston County Office of Emergency Management said the main focus is on preparation and communication ahead of any potential tropical storm conditions.
The National Weather Service on Wednesday issued a tropical storm watch for Chambers County as well as coastal portions of Brazoria and Galveston counties.
The watch is in effect until 6 a.m.
Friday and means tropical storm conditions are possible.
According to a Wednesday afternoon update, gusts to weak tropical storm-force winds are the most likely impact along the immediate coast.
Galveston County Emergency Management Coordinator Jesse Ryholt said the county has reached out to stakeholders and energy providers to monitor what issues they anticipate and steps they’re taking to prepare for issues such as power outages.
CenterPoint Energy officials have said they're taking a series of actions to prepare for potential impacts from Tropical Storm Bertha, including mobilizing 1,050 frontline personnel with an additional 1,100 contractors ready if necessary and activating its emergency operations center.
This comes a few weeks after CenterPoint officials said they were working to make improvements after around 11,000 customers lost power in Galveston during Tropical Storm Arthur in mid-June.
The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season brought heavy rain and strong winds to the Galveston area.
Those power outages occurred after salt impacts from the storm damaged CenterPoint equipment, according to local officials.
While there is still uncertainty when it comes to the intensity of Tropical Storm Bertha when it reaches the Texas coast, according to previous Houston Public Media reporting, Ryholt asked residents to take it seriously and treat it like every other storm.
"Who knows what the storm’s going to do?"
Ryholt said.
"We're fairly confident with the forecast that the National Weather Service has given us but ... you just never really know.
So, stay ready and keep doing things the way that you would for any storm."
According to Ryholt, residents should have an emergency supply kit prepared and continuously monitor official means of communication, such as the National Weather Service.
In terms of maritime operations, Port of Galveston officials said based on current forecasts, no disruptions to port operations were expected as of Wednesday morning.
As of Tuesday morning, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) officials said there were no disruptions to Galveston-Port Bolivar Ferry operations.
Analysis
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