Tropical Storm Bertha Heads To Open Water

Former Hurricane Weakens After Pounding Bermuda With Rain And Power Outages

(AP)  Tropical Storm Bertha headed back out over open ocean Tuesday after it battered Bermuda, knocking out electricity to thousands on the Atlantic tourist island.

The government dispatched cleanup crews and expected to restore power to 200 remaining customers by the end of the day. Bertha's heavy rains flooded roads and its winds felled utility poles, leaving up to 7,500 without electricity on Monday. There were no reports of injuries.

Bertha was centered 260 miles northeast of Bermuda Tuesday morning with sustained winds near 70 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It had dumped 4.7 inches of rain on the island and was swirling northeast at 12 mph.

Bertha became the Atlantic season's first hurricane on July 7, but later weakened into a tropical storm. It is expected to re-strengthen into a hurricane by late Tuesday or early Wednesday, the center said. The storm whipped up dangerous rip currents along the U.S. East Coast from the Carolinas through southern New England, contributing to at least one drowning Saturday along a New Jersey beach, officials said.

On Monday, Elida became the second hurricane of the Eastern Pacific region's season, scattering rains across Mexico's central coast. The storm, with winds of nearly 80 mph, was headed away from land and was expected to gradually weaken during the next 48 hours.

Elida was centered about 475 miles southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, and was moving northwest about 12 mph.