Environmental Glance
Tropical Storm Bertha formed Monday evening in the Gulf of Mexico south of the Florida Panhandle as it drifts erratically toward populated coastal areas, bringing a threat of heavy rain, storm surge and damaging wind gusts.
Meanwhile, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto formed far from Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and posed no threat to land Monday night.
The center of Bertha was located about 110 miles (180 km) south of Panama City, Florida. Maximum sustained winds were around 40 mph, according to an evening advisory from the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.
The slow-moving storm has been drifting erratically, but is expected to stay near or along the northern Gulf coast early this week, bringing heavy rainfall to areas of northern Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana as it pushes westward toward Texas. Forecasters said some additional strengthening is expected in the coming hours.
Five family members who had set out for a day of hiking were killed after a flash flood swept through canyons of southern Utah on Friday, law enforcement officials said.
A century-old water pipe buried below a bustling boulevard in a Los Angeles county city burst early Thursday, sending a shock of water spewing into the streets and snarling traffic as several major roads shut down.
More than 830 wildfires are burning across Canada, with over 100 considered out of control, as smoke from the blazes in northwestern Ontario and neighboring regions spreads into parts of the Midwest and Northeast.
Salt Lake City’s National Weather Service declared a “particularly dangerous situation red flag warning”, the first in the service’s history, according to a social media post.
