Tropical Storm Bertha targets the northern Gulf Coast; wildfires hold at Preparedness Level 5; flash flood and extreme heat threats stretch from Texas to New York

EM Morning Brief · Jul 21, 2026 · 8m · transcript

Tropical Storm Bertha strengthens in the Gulf with warnings from the Florida Panhandle to southeast Louisiana, including watches for metropolitan New Orleans. The nation holds at Preparedness Level 5 with 74 large fires, the Boundary Waters closure extends through Friday, and evacuations continue in Oregon, Washington, California, and Utah. A Flood Watch covers the I-95 corridor as severe storms cross the Northeast, Extreme Heat Warnings blanket the Southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley, FEMA adds three Texas counties to the July flooding disaster declaration, and West Virginia…