This pathetic, disorganized clump of clouds sitting a few hundred miles east of the Florida coast somehow managed to become Hurricane Bertha this morning, with a Hurricane Hunter aircraft confirming that it has a small area of 80 MPH winds extending about 25 miles away from its center.

The strongest wind and rain in Tropical Storm Bertha is spreading over Puerto Rico this afternoon as the poorly-organized storm moves off towards the northwest. Bertha currently has 50 MPH winds and is expected to slowly strengthen over the next few days as it heads away from the Caribbean.

Around this time every year, hurricane forecast maps pop up all over television and the internet — including on your favorite weather blog — but your friendly neighborhood weatherman rarely has enough time to explain the forecasts to you. Here's what those hurricane forecast maps mean.

The National Hurricane Center finally declared the low pressure system approaching the Caribbean as Tropical Storm Bertha. The newly-minted tropical system is the second of the year, and has sustained winds of 45 MPH as it heads towards the Lesser Antilles. It may pose a slight threat to the East Coast next week.

A swirling low pressure system in the Atlantic Ocean is approaching the Caribbean at this hour as it produces tropical storm force winds, but it's not considered a tropical storm. If it's producing strong enough winds, why won't forecasters call it a tropical storm?