nola.com8%
Southeast Louisiana readies for Tropical Storm Bertha. 'Rather be prepared than sorry.' 26%
By MIKE SMITH30% JONI HESS30% LARA NICHOLSON35%
7/21/2026, 10:16:00 PM
Keywords: Fej
BS Summary: This article contains 23 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Authority, Availability Heuristic, and Anecdotal, with Optimism Bias as the most egregious example at 21.8% saturation with 207 hits. Analysis detected 1,178 faulty-reasoning hits from 951 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 38.6% and a BS Rank of 26% (14,392 of 19,443 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 74.00% of the article peer group.
Southeast Louisiana braced for Tropical Storm Bertha as it meandered toward an expected landfall on Wednesday, but forecasters’ predictions that its heaviest impacts could remain offshore left residents hopeful of escaping serious damage.
While Bertha was far from a major storm, the flood-prone New Orleans area has learned not to ignore any possibility of severe weather.
Preparations were underway to guard against potential risks, with some floodgates being closed, sandbags being filled, groceries being bought and boats being moved to higher ground.
Forecasters sketched out a scenario expected to limit Bertha’s power.
Wind shear and dry air from the northeast would likely slice at the disorganized storm’s structure, preventing it from intensifying.
The shear was also expected to push Bertha’s convection to its south and keep much of the rainfall over the Gulf.
The risk of tornadoes spinning off from Bertha’s winds also appeared relatively low, officials said, but the potential for heavy rain, flash floods and troublesome storm surge in some areas remained concerns.
In New Orleans itself, the Sewerage and Water Board said 87 of 93 major pumps were available along with plenty of electricity to power them.
Renewed focus has been placed on the city’s drainage system after seven pump stations lost power as the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur swept through last month.
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said the city was preparing despite forecasts showing many of Bertha’s most significant impacts occurring to the south.
"Our public safety agencies here locally, they’ve been coordinating with the state and we’re going to be ready for whatever comes our way," she said.
Damon Singleton, NOLA.com’s senior meteorologist, said it seemed “most of the rainfall is going to be over the Gulf of Mexico.”
“I’m still expecting showers and storms across the area,” he said.
“I think this is going to be an all-day event for your Wednesday.
You’re going to notice the winds picking up and the showers and maybe even some tropical downpours at times.”
NWS forecasters issued similar predictions while saying Bertha was expected to gradually weaken Wednesday through Friday as it moved along the coast toward Texas.
‘Rather be prepared’
For many New Orleans residents, it was business as usual on Tuesday.
Michelle McMillan, a manager at Rouses Market in Mid-City, said she wasn’t worried about the weather and was instead looking forward to hitting the casino during a planned Gulfport trip this week.
McMillan said she has taken note, however, of customers stocking up on goods that are typical mainstays ahead of major weather events.
“I’ve noticed a lot of people getting tuna, sardines, lunch meat, bread and water,” she said.
Tessie Wilkins was one of those shoppers.
Her basket was stockpiled with extra toilet paper, cases of water and nonperishable foods.
“You never know what’s going to happen in this city, so I’d rather be prepared than sorry,” she said.
In southeast Louisiana’s coastal communities, officials and residents monitored the incoming storm but said they weren’t phased by the looming weather.
Grand Isle Mayor David Carmardelle declined to issue a voluntary evacuation for his town, located on a barrier island off Louisiana’s Gulf Coast.
He said on Tuesday he saw both residents and visitors for the annual Tarpon Rodeo out on the town’s beaches and campgrounds as normal.
“We’re going to monitor the storm, batten down the hatches, the storm will come through and it’s supposed to be sunshine the next day,” Carmardelle said.
The Tarpon Rodeo, a three-day party and important tourism event for the island, delayed its Thursday kickoff by several hours in anticipation of the coming storm.
The Jefferson Parish Council relocated its annual Grand Isle meeting scheduled for Wednesday to Gretna.
Donna Baker, the town’s postal worker, echoed that she wasn’t concerned about the storm and didn’t plan to leave Grand Isle.
In Plaquemines Parish, where Bertha is expected to make landfall Wednesday, Parish President Keith Hinkley said the only area of possible concern would be the 14-mile stretch of lower Plaquemines from Phoenix to Bohemia, where storm surge of over 5 feet could flood Louisiana Highway 39.
However, officials did not elect to issue a voluntary evacuation.
Hinkley said as far as storms go, it’s “really kind of calm” in Plaquemines.
‘No strangers to this’
Jefferson and Plaquemines parishes drained their canals ahead of Bertha's arrival, and Jefferson Parish will staff its Emergency Operations Center from 7 p.m.
Tuesday through the duration of the storm.
But both parishes plan to operate their government buildings as normal Wednesday.
The Des Allemands Boat Launch under US-90 and Sellers Canal Sector Gate closed at noon Tuesday and will reopen once tides subside.
In lower St.
Bernard Parish outside the New Orleans area’s main levee system, some people moved boats and trailers to higher ground, though far fewer than is customary for larger storms.
Large sandbags were also being placed in vulnerable spots.
Plaquemines Parish Council Member Mitch Jurisch advised residents to “stay vigilant” nonetheless, as forecasts could change ahead of landfall.
He said fishermen outside the levee protection system there relocated their boats Monday and Tuesday, a lesson they learned in 1997 when Hurricane Danny wiped out vessels.
Danny, a Category 1 hurricane, took an unusual path northeast through Plaquemines Parish, making landfall near Buras, before heading to Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
“We’re no strangers to this in Plaquemines Parish, believe me,” Jurisch said.
“Are we panicking?
By no means, no.
We just tell people to be diligent.”
Email Mike Smith at msmith@theadvocate.com or follow him on Twitter, @MikeJSmith504.
His work is supported with a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, administered by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.
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