Hurricane Bertha (2008) Hurricane Bertha (2008) Hurricane Bertha was the longest-lived Atlantic tropical cyclone on record during July, and it also attained tropical storm intensity farther east than any other system on record during the month. The second named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the active 2008 season, Bertha developed into a tropical depression on July 3 from a tropical wave that departed western Africa two days prior. On a west-northwest to northwest track, the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Bertha six hours formation and ultimately attained hurricane intensity on July 7. A period of rapid deepening brought the cyclone
Hurricane Bertha (1996) 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 with a minimum barometric pressure of . Moving around the western periphery of the subtropical ridge, Bertha passed north of the Bahamas as a weakening hurricane before turning towards the north-northeast and undergoing another period of rapid intensification. Late on July 12, Bertha made landfall between