Hurricane Bertha was a rare early season Cape Verde-type hurricane. It is both the longest-lived July Atlantic tropical cyclone on record,and the easternmost forming July tropical storm on record. The second named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Bertha developed from a tropical wave that emerged off the coast of Africa on July 1. Tropical Depression Two formed about 250 miles (405 km) south of Cape Verde. The system quickly strengthened into Tropical Storm Bertha on July 3. Bertha moved westward over the next few days as a weak tropical storm. Late on July 6, Bertha began to strengthen well to the east of the Northern Leeward Islands. Bertha continued to strengthen and became the first hurricane of the season on July 7, as well as the first major hurricane, later that day. The