Tropical Depression 2 was moving northwest at just 3 mph Monday, and forecasters said dry air and roughly 25-knot wind shear were keeping it disorganized and limiting near-term strengthening.
Two high-pressure systems are trapping the storm in weak steering flow, with the National Hurricane Center showing a broad track from a Wednesday approach near southeastern Louisiana to a path about 100 miles offshore.
Tropical Storm Watches remain posted from the Florida Panhandle to Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, with Storm Surge Watches from the Alabama-Florida border to the mouth of the Mississippi River and warnings possible by Tuesday.
Up to 3 feet of storm surge and isolated rainfall above 6 inches could hit parts of the central Gulf Coast this week as the slow-moving system expands and keeps onshore winds and heavy rain in place.
The latest forecast still brings a possible Bertha ashore in coastal Louisiana on Wednesday or Thursday, with a chance it re-emerges over the northwestern Gulf and reaches southeast Texas later this week.