An infographic titled "Tropical Storm Bertha" created in Ankara, Turkiye on July 21, 2026. Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to bring heavy rain, life-threatening storm surge, and possible flooding to parts of the US Gulf Coast over the coming days. …
Tropical Storm Bertha, the second named storm of the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season, is expected to make landfall along the southeastern U.S. Coast later this week, after pummelling parts of the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Louisiana with heavy rains – and Texas in its path.
How are the storm names decided during hurricane season?
Meteorologists have been tracking the system for days now, but Bertha did not earn its name until Monday evening, when they determined the storm reached tropical storm status.
There are 21 storm names every season. Those names rotate every 6 years. The World Meteorological Society determines the names – and only retires if a storm is particularly damaging or deadly.
Once a storm gets a name, it will stay the same when and if the system continues to develop into a hurricane. The names are given alphabetically, which is why the current second named storm starts with a ‘B,’ and they are decided years in advance. For example, we already know that if there are 20 named storms in 2031, the 20th one will be dubbed Tropical Storm or Hurricane Van.
What’s the difference between Tropical Depression, Tropical Storm, and a Hurricane?
Big picture view:
No matter whether the systems are still considered a tropical depression, have grown into a tropical storm, or have reached hurricane status, they are all simply different varieties of tropical cyclones.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes tropical cyclones as rotating and organized systems of clouds and thunderstorms. They form in tropical and subtropical waters and, once they start rotating, they will spin counterclockwise north of the equator.
Tropical Depression vs. Tropical Storm
Big picture view:
The key difference between depressions, storms, and hurricanes comes down to wind speeds, particularly the maximum sustained winds of the system.
Wind Speed Breakdown
- Tropical Depression - Wind speeds under 38 mph
- Tropical Storm - Wind speeds between 39 and 73 mph
- Hurricane - Wind speeds over 74 mph
By the numbers:
If the sustained winds are 38 mph or lower, the system is still considered a tropical depression. It will not have a name yet, but meteorologists will be tracking it closely to determine whether it will grow stronger and where it may be headed.
Once the sustained winds start blowing at 39 mph, the system has reached tropical storm status and is given a name.
Tropical storm watches and warnings
By now, tropical storm watches and warnings will likely start popping up, if they have not already. A tropical storm watch is issued when a tropical, subtropical, or post-tropical cyclone with sustained winds between 39 and 73 mph is possible in an area within the next 48 hours.
The watch becomes a warning when meteorologists expect the system is threatening a specific area within the next 36 hours. Both tropical storm watches and warnings require the sustained wind speeds to be within that 39 to 73 mph range, because once they hit speeds higher than that, they are no longer tropical storms.
When it’s a hurricane
Once sustained wind speeds reach 74 mph, the storm becomes a hurricane. There is no cap on hurricane speeds. At this point, meteorologists start breaking down the levels as categories, such as Category 1, Category 2, all the way to a Category 5.
Hurricane watches and warnings work slightly differently than their tropical storm counterparts, though. The same 48-hour and 36-hour windows for watches and warnings remain, but they are counting down to when tropical storm winds are expected in the designated area, not hurricane strength ones.
The Florida State University emergency preparedness website explains that it is because once a storm that strong reaches an area, hurricane preparedness activities become much more difficult.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Weather Service, and Florida State University. This story was reported from Orlando.