Texas, Louisiana Face Searing Heat Wave Exacerbated by Storm
Texas and Louisiana are sweltering under dangerous heat exacerbated by Tropical Storm Bertha, which made landfall Wednesday afternoon and is helping push Texas electricity demand to another record.
Heat index temperatures in eastern Texas and northwest Louisiana may reach 120F (49C), according to the National Weather Service. An extreme heat warning remains in effect across much of the region through 8 p.m. local time.
Power demand in Texas is projected to rise to a record of close to 90 gigawatts Wednesday afternoon. That would come a day after usage reached a new all-time high of 87.403 gigawatts, surpassing the earlier record of 85.508 gigawatts set in August 2023. Still, generation on the grid operated by Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, is forecast to climb with the hot weather boosting solar to create an ample cushion that should help mitigate any stress on the system.
Meanwhile, Bertha is sweeping across Louisiana’s southern coast Wednesday afternoon before moving west, and may make landfall again in Texas by Thursday evening. Although the storm has weakened, it’s boosting humidity in the region, making the heat feel even more intense, according to Mike Efferson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Slidell, Louisiana.
“It’s the perfect setup for more extreme heat,” he said. “The much bigger potential impact is from the heat.”
While Bertha is worsening the heat for now, its rain and cloud cover should bring relief by the end of the week before another round of heat builds late next week, according to Commodity Weather Group.
Dangerous heat continues! Heat Advisory in effect until 8PM with high temps 92-100 degrees/heat indices 104-108. Extreme Heat Warning in effect from 11AM to 8PM on Wednesday with high temps between 99-104 and heat index values up to 115. Be sure to practice heat safety. #houwx pic.twitter.com/zjLxQxH9ZQ
— NWS Houston (@NWSHouston) July 21, 2026
Conditions on the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which serves a large swath of the central US, including the bulk of Louisiana, are relatively stable despite the approaching storm.
Bertha was about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of New Orleans at 2 p.m. local time, according to an advisory from the National Hurricane Center, with top speeds of about 45 miles per hour. That’s down from Tuesday, when the winds reached 60 miles per hour. It’s expected to dump as much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain through Friday, and a dangerous storm surge of as much as three feet (0.9 meters) may threaten the Gulf Coast from Alabama to Texas.
Still, the region has seen worse storms, and Efferson said Bertha poses a minimal threat to most of the region. He cautioned that people should pay more attention to the searing temperatures.
“If you’re outside at any point today, the heat is something to be concerned about,” he said. “It’s kind of like being in a breezy oven.”