Remnants of Tropical Storm Bertha bring rain to Gulf; Cristobal moving away from Florida

MIAMI (AP) _ Remnants of Tropical Storm Bertha returned Thursday to the Gulf of Mexico, bringing heavy rain, forecasters said. Flooding was the storm's primary threat. <br><br>``There is no wind problem,

Friday, August 9th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

MIAMI (AP) _ Remnants of Tropical Storm Bertha returned Thursday to the Gulf of Mexico, bringing heavy rain, forecasters said. Flooding was the storm's primary threat.

``There is no wind problem, just rain,'' meteorologist Daniel Brown said.

The storm, carrying potential rain of 5 inches or more, was 85 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, at 11 p.m. and was moving west at 3 mph with maximum sustained wind of 30 mph.

A reconnaissance aircraft and satellite images found Bertha was becoming less organized and that it had a poorly defined circulation.

Bertha, now a tropical depression, must retain wind of at least 39 mph to become a tropical storm again. That's unlikely, Brown said.

Bertha went ashore Monday in the New Orleans area, bringing heavy rain to parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and northwestern Florida. A drowning in Florida on Sunday was blamed on rough surf kicked up by Bertha.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Cristobal, which had been drifting eastward in the Atlantic Ocean well off the Southeast coast, moved even farther away Thursday. Cristobal wasn't expected to strengthen.

The 2002 Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.