Security Advisory
Tropical Storm Bertha: Updated Preparedness Advisory for Southeast Texas Businesses
Bertha is moving west near the Louisiana coast with 45 mph winds, and a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect to Sargent, Texas. Upper Texas Coast businesses should complete readiness checks and monitor local warnings today.
Cyber One Solutions has begun preliminary Emergency Operations Center readiness actions while Tropical Storm Bertha approaches the Upper Texas Coast. This remains a preparedness advisory, not a declaration of emergency and not a prediction of severe impacts at any specific location.
Operational Update - July 23, 2026, 7:15 a.m. CDT
The National Hurricane Center's archived 7:00 a.m. CDT intermediate advisory places Tropical Storm Bertha about 145 miles west-southwest of New Orleans and 70 miles southeast of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph. Bertha is moving west at 13 mph and is expected to move near or along the Louisiana and Upper Texas coasts through this afternoon before moving inland over Texas this evening and tonight.
A Tropical Storm Warning is now in effect from the Terrebonne/Lafourche Parish line in Louisiana to Sargent, Texas. The NHC expects Bertha to maintain tropical-storm strength until it reaches the Upper Texas Coast later today, then dissipate inland over Texas by tonight or Friday. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 160 miles, primarily south of the center. Forecast hazards include a potential storm surge of 1 to 3 feet from Port Bolivar to the mouth of the Mississippi River, rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches with isolated totals to 6 inches along the Texas Gulf Coast and South Texas, and dangerous surf and rip currents.
The National Weather Service Houston/Galveston office says Bertha should approach the Upper Texas Coast late this afternoon into this evening. The storm remains lopsided, with most showers and thunderstorms south of the center. Tropical Storm Warnings cover portions of the Upper Texas Coast, Galveston Bay, and adjacent Gulf waters. Coastal businesses should complete continuity checks this morning, secure exposed equipment, verify remote access and backup status, and follow local emergency guidance. Cyber One Solutions remains at preliminary EOC readiness with enhanced monitoring, not full activation.
Operational Update - July 22, 2026, 7:15 p.m. CDT
The National Hurricane Center's archived 7:00 p.m. CDT intermediate advisory placed Tropical Storm Bertha about 40 miles southwest of New Orleans and 165 miles east-southeast of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Maximum sustained winds were near 45 mph, and Bertha was moving a little south of west at 7 mph after making landfall earlier that afternoon in St. Bernard Parish.
A Tropical Storm Warning remained in effect from the Alabama/Florida border to Cameron, Louisiana, while a Tropical Storm Watch extended west from Cameron to Sargent, Texas. The forecast called for the center to move near or along the Louisiana and Upper Texas coasts through Thursday, then move inland into Texas Thursday night. The NHC forecast 1 to 3 feet of storm surge from the Alabama/Florida border to Port Bolivar and rainfall totals of 1 to 4 inches with isolated totals to 6 inches from Northwest Florida to southern Texas.
Cyber One Solutions continued preliminary EOC readiness through the evening. The expanded Texas watch justified continued staffing, communications, backup, remote-access, and power-continuity checks, while the forecast still supported measured preparation rather than assumptions about exact local impacts.
Operational Update - July 22, 2026, 7:15 a.m. CDT
The National Hurricane Center's 7:00 a.m. CDT intermediate advisory places Tropical Storm Bertha about 45 miles northeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and 60 miles south of Pascagoula, Mississippi. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to 50 mph. Bertha is moving west at 5 mph, and a general westward motion with some acceleration is expected through Friday.
The Tropical Storm Watch has been extended west to Sargent, Texas. A watch means tropical-storm conditions are possible, in this case within the next 24 to 48 hours. The NHC says those conditions are possible along the Upper Texas Coast by Thursday or Thursday night. The current advisory also calls for a potential storm surge of 1 to 3 feet from Port Bolivar to the mouth of the Mississippi River, rainfall totals of 1 to 4 inches with isolated totals to 6 inches from the western Florida coast to southern Texas, and dangerous surf and rip currents along the northern Gulf Coast.
Gradual weakening is forecast over the next several days, but the new watch means Southeast Texas businesses should move from routine monitoring to completing practical readiness checks today. Cyber One Solutions remains at preliminary EOC readiness with enhanced monitoring, not full activation. We are verifying staffing and escalation paths, customer communications, protected backups, remote-access readiness, and power and connectivity contingencies. Businesses should monitor the National Hurricane Center and their local National Weather Service office, verify that continuity systems work, and be ready to adjust operations if local guidance changes.
Operational Update - July 21, 2026, 7:30 p.m. CDT
The National Hurricane Center's 7:00 p.m. CDT intermediate advisory places Tropical Storm Bertha about 120 miles west-southwest of Panama City, Florida, and 105 miles south-southeast of Mobile, Alabama. Maximum sustained winds remain near 60 mph. The storm is now moving west at 6 mph, and a westward or west-northwestward motion is expected through Friday.
The official forecast keeps Bertha near or along the northern Gulf Coast during the next several days. Little change in strength is expected tonight, followed by gradual weakening Wednesday through Friday. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles from the center. Tropical storm warnings cover portions of the northern Gulf Coast through Morgan City, Louisiana, while a tropical storm watch extends west to Cameron, Louisiana.
No tropical watch or warning is posted for the Texas coast as of this update. The National Weather Service Houston/Galveston office says Bertha is expected to turn west toward Southeast Texas later this week, but increasing wind shear, dry air, and interaction with Louisiana should limit the storm's organization. The local coastal forecast currently says significant impacts are not expected in Upper Texas coastal waters, although small-craft conditions could develop offshore if winds and seas increase.
Cyber One Solutions remains at preliminary EOC readiness, not full activation. We are continuing to verify staffing and escalation paths, customer communications, protected backups, remote-access readiness, and power and connectivity contingencies. Businesses should complete the same low-risk checks now, monitor official updates, and avoid making operational decisions from a single model run or social-media forecast.
Operational Update, July 21, 2026, 10:15 a.m. CDT
The National Hurricane Center's 10:00 a.m. CDT advisory reports that Air Force Hurricane Hunters found Bertha had strengthened to maximum sustained winds of 60 mph. The center was about 70 miles south-southwest of Panama City, Florida, moving north-northwest at 3 mph.
Bertha is forecast to turn west-northwest and then west, moving near or along the northern Gulf Coast over the next several days. Gradual weakening is expected after today as stronger wind shear, dry air, and land interaction disrupt the storm. The National Hurricane Center says interests elsewhere in Louisiana and Texas should continue monitoring the system because additional watches or warnings could become necessary.
No tropical watch or warning is posted for the Texas coast as of this update. The warning area currently extends from the Florida Panhandle to the Terrebonne/Lafourche Parish line in Louisiana, with a watch farther west to the Vermilion/Cameron Parish line. That is a meaningful westward expansion, but it does not place Southeast Texas under a warning.
Cyber One Solutions remains at preliminary EOC readiness. We are continuing staffing and escalation checks, monitoring customer continuity systems, and preparing communications in case the official forecast or local watches change. Businesses should keep preparations calm and reversible, verify backups and remote access, and rely on National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service updates rather than individual model runs.
Operational Update, July 21, 2026, 8:35 a.m. CDT
The National Hurricane Center's 7:00 a.m. CDT advisory placed Tropical Storm Bertha about 100 miles south-southwest of Panama City, Florida, moving northwest at 5 mph with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. Tropical-storm watches and warnings remain in effect for portions of the northern Gulf Coast.
The National Weather Service Houston/Galveston office says Bertha is forecast to move near the Louisiana coast late Wednesday through Friday morning and could approach Southeast Texas late Friday. Dry air and wind shear are expected to weaken the system, potentially back to a depression before it reaches the region. Significant marine impacts are not currently expected, although locally heavy rain, breezy coastal conditions, and small-craft impacts remain possible if outer bands reach the coast.
No tropical watch or warning is currently posted for the Texas coast. Forecast uncertainty remains high, so that statement can change. Cyber One Solutions remains at preliminary readiness: monitoring official updates, confirming staffing and escalation paths, and checking continuity systems. We have not moved to full EOC activation.
Businesses should continue calm, reversible preparation. The more immediate Houston-area hazard on Tuesday and Wednesday is dangerous heat, with the local National Weather Service highlighting heat-index values that may reach the 107-to-115-degree range in some locations.
Previous Update, July 20, 2026, 5:45 p.m. CDT
The system remains Tropical Depression Two. The National Hurricane Center's 1:00 p.m. CDT intermediate advisory placed it about 115 miles south of Panama City, Florida, moving northwest at 3 mph with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. It is still expected to become Tropical Storm Bertha, but it had not reached tropical-storm strength at the time of that advisory.
Watches have expanded along portions of the north-central Gulf Coast, but no tropical watch or warning is in effect for the Texas coast as of this update. ABC13 reports that forecast guidance still ranges from a Louisiana land interaction that weakens the system to a track that keeps it over water longer and carries it toward Texas late Thursday through early Saturday. That spread means Southeast Texas impacts remain possible, not certain.
Cyber One Solutions' posture remains at preliminary readiness. We are monitoring official National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service updates, confirming staffing and escalation paths, and checking continuity systems. We have not moved to full EOC activation. Businesses should continue calm, reversible preparation and avoid making decisions from a single forecast model or social-media graphic.
What the Official Forecast Says
As of the morning of July 20, the National Weather Service Houston/Galveston office reported that Tropical Depression Two was drifting north-northwestward in the eastern Gulf and was expected to strengthen into a tropical storm near the northeastern Gulf. A westward turn is expected later in the week, bringing the system toward Southeast Texas Thursday or Friday. The local forecast office stresses that track and intensity confidence remain low beyond Wednesday.
The current Houston/Galveston Area Forecast Discussion says tropical-storm-force winds could reach portions of the region Thursday, with less than a ten percent chance of arriving before Wednesday night. There are currently no tropical watches or warnings for the Texas coast. If the depression reaches tropical-storm strength, the next Atlantic name is Bertha.
The Weather Channel and ABC13 Houston are also tracking the system. Businesses should use the National Hurricane Center and their local National Weather Service office for official watches, warnings, and forecast changes.
Cyber One Solutions' Current Readiness Posture
We are beginning minor, reversible preparations now because they are inexpensive to perform early and difficult to perform after conditions deteriorate. Our preliminary posture includes confirming the EOC contact tree and on-call coverage, reviewing customer and vendor escalation paths, checking monitoring and remote-support readiness, confirming the status of protected backups and recovery systems, reviewing fuel and power-continuity needs for critical facilities, and preparing customer communications if the forecast becomes more specific.
We have not moved to full EOC activation. We will increase our posture only when official forecasts, watches, warnings, or expected local impacts justify it.
What Gulf Coast Businesses Should Do Now
Confirm that leadership, facilities, IT, and key vendors have a current emergency contact list that is accessible away from the office.
Verify that critical backups completed successfully and that at least one recent recovery test is documented. A successful backup job is not the same as a proven recovery.
Review remote-work access before employees need it. Confirm that multi-factor authentication works, VPN or secure remote-access systems are patched, and staff know how to reach the help desk from outside the office.
Identify the systems that must remain available during a power, internet, or building-access interruption. Confirm UPS runtime, generator readiness where applicable, and failover procedures for internet and voice services.
Protect exposed equipment and records from water. Do not wait for a warning to move critical electronics, paper records, and spare equipment away from floors, windows, or known leak areas.
Decide who has authority to close an office, shift to remote work, or activate the continuity plan. Document the decision path now so employees are not waiting for conflicting instructions later.
Monitor official updates at least twice daily through midweek. Forecast confidence should improve as the system organizes and additional reconnaissance data become available.
The Bottom Line
There is too much forecast uncertainty to claim that Tropical Storm Bertha will strike Texas, but there is enough credible potential to justify a calm preliminary readiness check. Cyber One Solutions will continue monitoring official guidance and will update this advisory if our EOC posture changes or Southeast Texas watches and warnings are issued.
Managed clients who discover a failed backup, inaccessible remote-work system, or other continuity concern should open a support ticket now rather than waiting for the forecast window to narrow. Businesses that need help reviewing continuity, backup, communications, or recovery readiness can contact Cyber One Solutions or review our backup and disaster recovery services.