Hurricane Bertha was an unusual tropical cyclone in early August 2014 that attained hurricane status, despite having a disheveled appearance and an abnormally high atmospheric pressure. The third tropical cyclone and second hurricane of the season, Bertha developed from a tropical wave south of Cape Verde was monitored first for possible tropical cyclogenesis on July 26. Over the following days, it slowly developed and acquired gale-force winds and enough convection to be designated as Tropical Storm Bertha early on August 1. A mostly disorganized cyclone, Bertha quickly moved across the Lesser Antilles, clipping the northern end of Martinique, later that day. During its trek across the eastern Caribbean Sea, its circulation became severely disrupted and it may have degenerated into a tropical wave. On August 3, it traversed the Mona Passage and moved over the Southeastern Bahamas where conditions favored development. Despite an overall ragged appearance on satellite imagery, data from Hurricane Hunters indicated it intensified to a hurricane on August 4; it acquired peak winds of that day. Turning north, and later northeast, Bertha soon weakened as it began to merge with an approaching trough to the west. This merger ultimately took place on August 6, at which time Bertha was declared extratropical well to the south of Nova Scotia. The remnant system raced eastward across the Atlantic and later struck the United Kingdom on August 10. Once over the North Sea, the storm stalled for a few days before resuming its eastward track. It was last noted around the Baltic Sea on August 16.
As a tropical cyclone, Bertha's impact was relatively minor. Widespread power outages occurred along its path but no major damage or loss of life took place. Enhanced swells and rip currents associated with the hurricane resulted in three fatalities and dozens of rescues along the East Coast of the United States. After becoming an extratropical system, it had significant effects in Western Europe. Particularly hard hit was the United Kingdom, where wind gusts reached . Unseasonably heavy rains triggered widespread flooding which shut down roads and prompted evacuations. One fatality took place offshore. On mainland Europe, a small tornado outbreak resulted in scattered structural damage in Belgium, France, and Germany.
Meteorological history
On July 24, 2014, a westward moving tropical wave emerged off the west coast of Africa near the Cape Verde Islands. Following the development of convective activity —showers and thunderstorms— on July 26, National Hurricane Center (NHC) began monitoring the system for potential tropical cyclogenesis. A disorganized system, development was forecast to be slow due to unfavorable environmental conditions. Organization and coverage of convection began improving by July 28, due in part to the passage of a Kelvin wave. An area of low pressure subsequently consolidated within the disturbance on July 29 and the NHC assessed the system as having high chance of becoming a tropical depression. Convection soon diminished over the system, though its circulation remained well-defined. Moving west-northwest around the periphery of a strong subtropical ridge, the low acquired tropical storm-force winds early on July 31 but continued to lack convection. A hurricane hunter aircraft investigated the system that afternoon and found winds of north and northeast of the center. In the hours following the weather reconnaissance mission, a band of deep convection blossomed near the center, prompting the NHC to designate the system as Tropical Storm Bertha at 00:00 UTC on August 1. Upon its classification, Bertha was situated roughly east-southeast of Barbados in the Lesser Antilles.