Tropical Storm Bertha makes landfall in Louisiana and moves toward Texas

Parks and piers were closed up and down the coast, as were some low-lying roads. Tropical storm force winds extend over 100 miles.

Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall in Louisiana and was southwest of New Orleans while moving west toward Texas early Thursday morning, after closing beaches on the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi.

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The storm made landfall Wednesday afternoon in St. Bernard Parish about 40 miles east of New Orleans. The storm was forecast to reach the upper Texas coast Thursday before dissipating inland in Texas by Friday.

Early Thursday, the storm was about 110 miles southwest of New Orleans and about 120 miles southeast of Lake Charles, Louisiana, moving west at 12 mph with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.