Monitoring Potential Impacts from Tropical Storm Bertha

BNSF is closely monitoring Tropical Storm Bertha as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical storm conditions are expected along portions of the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle westward to southeastern Louisiana through Wednesday, where Tropical Storm Warnings remain in effect. Tropical Storm Watches have also been issued for the New Orleans metropolitan area and the southern Louisiana Gulf Coast. Rainfall totals of 2-4 inches are expected across many coastal communities, with locally higher amounts possible.

While widespread impacts to BNSF infrastructure are not anticipated at this time, flash flooding remains possible through Friday, with isolated impacts extending westward along portions of the Texas coast later this week. We are also monitoring flood gates in the New Orleans area, as potential closures could affect traffic interchanging with eastern carriers. In preparation for the storm, BNSF has positioned additional resources at strategic locations across the network, including ballast in South Texas, to enable crews to respond quickly should flooding, washouts or other infrastructure impacts occur.

Following last week's weather-related outages on Union Pacific's Del Rio Subdivision between Uvalde and Hondo, Texas, BNSF continues to monitor conditions near Eagle Pass. Saturated ground and elevated water levels persist in some areas, increasing the risk of additional service interruptions. Because this route serves as a key interchange corridor, any additional impacts could affect freight movements and cross-border traffic as recovery efforts continue.

Customers with shipments moving through the Gulf Coast region should anticipate potential delays, extended transit times and, in some cases, alternate routings as operations teams work to maintain network fluidity and minimize disruptions.

If you have questions regarding a shipment(s), please utilize the Message Us feature on the BNSF Customer Portal (must be registered/logged in to access) or contact BNSF Customer Support at 1-888-428-2673.

As always, we appreciate your business and will continue to provide customers with further updates.