page_title: Hurricane Bertha (1996)
section_title: Impact
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Bertha (1996) / Impact
caption_attribution_description: English: Storm total rainfall map of Hurricane Bertha in Puerto Rico during July 1996.
context_page_description: Hurricane Bertha was an intense and early-forming major hurricane that affected areas from the Leeward Islands to the United States in July of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season. The second named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane during the season. Bertha originated from a tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa in early July. Steadily organizing while moving generally towards the west, the disturbance was designated as a tropical depression at 0000 UTC on July 5, and was further upgraded to a tropical storm by 1200 UTC later that day. Over the next few days, continued intensification occurred, and Bertha became a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, the first hurricane of the season, prior to moving through the northern Leeward Islands. Late on July 8, a period of rapid intensification began, and at 0600 UTC on July 9, Bertha reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph with a minimum barometric pressure of 960 mbar.
caption: Rainfall from Hurricane Bertha in Puerto Rico
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