Hurricane Bertha (1990) rapidly strengthened. Bertha became a hurricane early on July 29, though it weakened back to a tropical storm later that day. On the following day, Bertha re-intensified into a hurricane and peaked as an 80 mph (130 km/h) Category 1 hurricane on July 31. Early on August 2, Bertha made landfall near Sydney, Nova Scotia while weakening and transitioning back into an extratropical cyclone. Large waves impacted the East Coast of the United States; waves were reported along the coast of North Carolina. In Florida, rough seas caused two fatalities by drowning, as well as at least 200 lifeguard rescues.
Hurricane Bertha (1990) Operationally, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center speculated whether Bertha was transitioning into a subtropical cyclone, due to its deep convection being located, at times, over 200 miles (321.8 km) from the center. However, the convection progressively returned to the center and by late on July 30, Bertha re-intensified into a hurricane as the convection covered the center, about 415 miles (667.8 km) east of where it first formed. Early on July 31, the hurricane briefly attained peak winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) before weakening and accelerated northeastward as the ridge of high pressure was slowly eroded. Bertha maintained