( CNN ) -- A big Bertha could have really clubbed Puerto Rico , but fortunately for the denizens of that U.S. territory , Tropical Storm Bertha never gained much clout . The tropical storm dumped plenty of rain and forged through the Caribbean island with gale-force winds Saturday afternoon , but according to the National Hurricane Center , Bertha barely qualified as a tropical cyclone , with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph , as dry air and vertical shear tore the storm apart . Despite the lack of an impressive resume , Bertha made things miserable for at least tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans . Nearly 40,000 people , mostly in the mountainous center of Puerto Rico , lost electricity , and another 3,000 were left without fresh water , Gov . Alejandro Garcia Padilla said at a news conference . Padilla also said 220 `` refugees , '' from several different countries , including the United States , ended up in shelters in Arroyo , Cayey and Ponce . The storm was heading over the eastern Dominican Republic , which was subject to a tropical storm warning , according the National Hurricane Center 's 8 p.m. advisory . The Miami-based center noted that Bertha was centered about 60 miles east-northeast of Santo Domingo , Dominican Republic , and 200 miles southeast of Grand Turk Island . As of 8 p.m. tropical storm warnings also remained in effect for the southeastern Bahamas , and the Turks and Caicos Islands . Bertha could end up dumping 1 to 3 inches of rain `` with isolated amounts up to 5 inches '' throughout the Caribbean by the time it 's passed through . The Hurricane Center suggests three possible scenarios for Bertha . The official forecast is that `` Bertha survives its current lack of structure , land interaction , and dry air entrainment long enough to reach a more favorable environment in about 36 hours . At that point , it would likely intensify until the onset of extratropical transition in 96-120 hours , '' and become a hurricane far out in the Atlantic Ocean . The second scenario calls for Bertha to degenerate over Hispaniola , though it could regenerate later . And the third scenario would involve a low pressure system developing over the northwestern Bahamas absorbing Bertha in the next 48 hours or so . The biggest threat to the United States would be rip currents up and down the East Coast as large waves come ashore . Share your photos , videos and stories with CNN iReport . CNN 's Joe Sutton and CNNE 's Dania Alexandrino contributed to this report .
2017 : Bertha still has 45 mph winds . NEW : It is centered 100 miles from Santo Domingo , Dominican Republic . 2018 : Storm left nearly 40,000 people without power in Puerto Rico . Storm is not expected to hit the continental shelf .