KEY TAKEAWAYS: Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall in St. Bernard Parish Wednesday afternoon in a weakened state. Gov. Jeff Landry said the storm is expected to bring less rain and wind than originally feared. Localized heavy rainfall and isolated flooding remain possible through Thursday. For ecasters expect Bertha to continue weakening and potentially dissipate within 48 hours.   Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall in St. Bernard Parish early Wednesday afternoon in a weakened state, sparing Louisiana and New Orleans the most damaging impacts so far, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said July 22. “The latest forecast is extremely encouraging,” Landry, who declared a state of emergency, said during a news conference. “The good news is it’s likely not going to produce the rain or wind events that it could have been.” State meteorologist Jay Grymes said “localized pockets of heavy rain” remain possible in Louisiana through Thursday, “but it’s not expected to be too problematic.” “Bertha will weaken steadily as it moves inland (and travels west),” Grymes said. “But don’t let your guard down. We have to wait for the rain bands to move through on the back side of the storm. Localized flooding is still possible, but we’re not looking at widespread flooding like we saw with (Tropical Storm Arthur) last month. “There’s a decent chance that Bertha will just collapse in the next 48 hours.” Grymes said wind sheer took most of the power out Bertha’s punch. Landry said state officials have been working with New Orleans city officials since Sunday to make sure pumps were operational and resources were available. “We have taken this storm seriously from the beginning,” he said. Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1. This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Tropical Storm Bertha lands in Louisiana in weakened state Reporting by Greg Hilburn, Shreveport Times / Shreveport Times USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect ...read more read less