Tropical Depression #2 which formed just before daybreak Thursday EST has intensified to become the second tropical storm of the season.

The cyclone was upgraded to Tropical Storm Bertha by the National Hurricane Centre at 11am EST.

It poses no immediate threat to the Caribbean.

Forecasters say that in the last six hours, the centre of the storm reformed further north and west of the last position and is expected to travel west-northwest around the periphery of a mid-level high pressure ridge. High pressure ridges tend to steer weak cyclones.

Dan Brown, a specialist at the National Hurricane Centre says, it is expected to stay on this course for the next two to three days. By that time some computer models are forecasting that a weakness will develop in the ridge which will act as a doorway through which the storm will swing northward and if the ridge does weaken - as forecasted - it will steer the storm away from the Caribbean island chain.

Earlier, some models indicated that it would brush the islands in the northeast Caribbean.

The forecast does not ancticipate - at this time - that Bertha will become a hurricane but will become a very strong tropical storm eaching wind speeds of about 60mph.

At 11am, Bertha was estimated to be near 13.3 north and 24.7 west or about 190
miles (310km) south-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.

Bertha is moving toward the west-northwest near 14 mph (22 km/hr) with maximum sustained winds near 40 mph (65 km/hr) with higher gusts.

Source: www.caribbean360.com