(UPDATE: 4:39 PM, CST) The National Hurricane Center upgraded the tropical storm watch for metro New Orleans to a tropical storm warning, but also said Tuesday afternoon that the storm is not likely to get any stronger than it is now.
The storm has maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour.
"Bertha remains a sheared tropical storm," said Brad Reinhart, a Senior Hurricane Specialist at the National Hurricane Center. "The low-level center is
exposed again, with bursts of deep convection displaced to the south by strong northerly shear."
Reinhart said the wind shear that is inhibiting Bertha's development will be "unrelenting," meaning the storm is unlikely to get any stronger, and even fall apart as its center encounters the southern edge of Louisiana.
NHC/NOAA
