MIAMI — A tropical depression over Cuba is becoming better organized, forecasters said Saturday, and is likely to bring torrential rain and coastal flooding to much of Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The storm strengthened into a tropical depression Friday night and is expected to become a tropical storm Saturday night once it has maximum sustained winds of 39 mph (63 kph) or greater. If the depression reaches tropical storm status, it will be named Debby, the fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
The circulation was centered south of Cienfuegos, Cuba, on Saturday morning, but associated winds and storm surges spread over a wide region, including south Florida, the Florida Keys and the Bahamas. A location in the middle of the Florida Keys island chain reported sustained winds of 30 mph (48 km/h) on Saturday morning.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami predicts the depression will strengthen as it curves north off the southwest coast of Florida, where the water has been extremely warm, with temperatures approaching 33 degrees Celsius (92 degrees Fahrenheit) this week .
Forecasts show the system could make landfall as a strong tropical storm Sunday night or Monday morning and cross north Florida into the Atlantic Ocean, where it is likely to remain a tropical storm threatening Georgia and the Carolinas early next week. Tropical storm warnings are posted for most of Florida’s west coast and in the Dry Tortugas. A hurricane warning is posted in parts of Big Bend, acknowledging that there is a chance Debby will reach hurricane status before landfall.
Flat Florida is prone to flooding even on sunny days, when so-called king tides emerge in coastal areas. This storm is forecast to increase storm surges of 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters) along most of Florida’s Gulf Coast, including Tampa Bay, with a highest tide of 3 to 5 feet predicted farther north in Florida’s sparsely populated Big Bend region. , where the Florida peninsula curves west into the state’s Panhandle region.
Tropical storms and hurricanes can also cause river flooding and overwhelm the region’s drainage systems and canals. Forecasters warn of 5 to 10 inches (125 mm to 250 mm) of rain, which could create “locally considerable” flashes and urban flooding. Meteorologists are also warning of moderate flooding in some rivers along Florida’s west coast.
Some of the heaviest rain could occur next week in a region along the Atlantic coast from Jacksonville, Florida, north through Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina.
People in some Florida cities filled sandbags on Friday to protect themselves against possible flooding. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for most Florida counties, stretching from the Florida Keys to Central Florida and the Tampa Bay region and into the western Panhandle.
Meanwhile, far off Mexico’s west coast, Hurricane Carlotta continued to move west, deepening into the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, with maximum sustained winds reaching 145 km/h (90 mph). The hurricane center said Carlotta may strengthen some more but is expected to begin losing strength on Sunday as it moves into an area of unfavorable winds and drier air. The storm will likely dissipate into a remnant of storms within three to four days. No watches or warnings are in effect.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
