Communities on the U.S. Gulf Coast distributed sandbags and closed beaches before Tropical Storm Bertha brings flooding and wind from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana.

Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to weaken in the Gulf of Mexico as it chugs closer to the U.S. But forecasters say it still could bring coastal flooding and heavy rain from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana.

Hurricane Fausto has formed in the eastern Pacific far from Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and poses no threat to land.

(NOAA via AP)With named storms coming earlier and more often in warmer waters, the Atlantic hurricane season is going through some changes with meteorologists ditching the Greek alphabet during busy years. The Greek alphabet had only been used twice in 2005 and nine times last year in a record-shattering hurricane season. AdMeanwhile, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration is recalculating just what constitutes an average hurricane season. STARTING EARLIERMIT hurricane researcher Kerry Emanuel said “this whole idea of hurricane season should be revisited." So a warming world means the new normal is busy hurricane seasons just like the last 30 years.

Location 30 miles ESE of Charleston South Carolina Wind 45 mph Heading NW at 9 mph Pressure 29.8 Coordinates 79.4W, 32.7NDiscussionAt 830 a.m. EDT (1230 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Bertha was located near latitude 32.7 north, longitude 79.4 west. Bertha is moving toward the northwest near 9 mph (15 km/h) and this motion is expected to continue through tonight. Watches and WarningsChanges with this advisory:A tropical storm warning is in effect for the coast of South Carolina from edisto beach to south santee river. Summary of watches and warnings in effect:A tropical storm warning is in effect for, * edisto beach sc to south santee river scA tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning, in this case in the next few hours. Wind: tropical storm conditions are expected to reach the coast within the warning area in the next couple of hours.