MIAMI– A tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico strengthened into Tropical Storm Debby on Saturday as it moved across the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said the storm now has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. Debby was located about 100 miles west-southwest of Key West, Florida, and was moving northwest at 15 mph.
Winds and storm surges spread across a wide region, including South Florida, the Florida Keys and the Bahamas.
Debby is likely to bring torrential rain and coastal flooding to much of Florida’s Gulf Coast on Sunday night, and forecasts show the system could make landfall as a strong tropical storm or hurricane on Monday and cross north from Florida to the Atlantic Ocean.
Forecasters warn that heavy rain could also occur in northern Florida and the Atlantic coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina early next week.
Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, after Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris, all of which formed in June.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami predicts the system will strengthen as it curves 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 that Debby could make landfall as a strong tropical storm or hurricane on Monday and cross north from Florida into the Atlantic Ocean, where it is likely to remain a tropical storm threatening Georgia and the Carolinas early next month. week.
Tropical storm warnings were posted for most of Florida’s west coast and Dry Tortugas, and a hurricane warning was issued for parts of Big Bend and the Florida Panhandle. A warning means that stormy conditions are expected within 36 hours, while a warning means they are possible within 48 hours.
Tropical storms and hurricanes It can cause river flooding and overload drainage systems and channels. Forecasters warned of 5 to 10 inches (125 mm to 250 mm) of rain, which could create “locally considerable” flashes and urban flooding. Forecasters also warned 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 the coastal regions of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The storm is expected to slow down after making landfall.
“We may see a stagnation or a meandering movement around the coastal portions of the southeastern United States,” National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said in a briefing Saturday. “So this will exacerbate not only the risk of rainfall, but also the potential for thunderstorms and some strong winds.”
Flat Florida is prone to flooding even on sunny days, and the storm is forecast to bring a wave of 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters) along most of the Gulf Coast, including the Gulf Coast. Tampa, with a highest tide of 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 meters) further north in the sparsely populated Big Bend region.
Forecasters warned of “the danger of life-threatening storm surge flooding” in a region that includes Hernando Beach, Crystal River, Steinhatchee and Cedar Key. Authorities in Citrus and Levy counties ordered mandatory evacuations of coastal areas, while of Hernando, Manatee, Pasco and Taylor counties called for voluntary evacuations. Shelters have opened in these and some other counties.
A tropical storm watch was posted for the southern tip of the Florida Keys, and several wind gusts in excess of 45 mph (72 km/h) were recorded.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 61 of the state’s 67 counties, with the Florida National Guard activating 3,000 guard members.
In Tampa alone, authorities distributed more than 30,000 sandbags to make flood barricades.
“We have our stormwater drains clean. We check and fuel our generators. We are doing everything we need to do to be prepared for a tropical storm,” said Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.
Christina Lothrop is general manager of Blue Pelican Marina in Hernando Beach, a barrier island about 50 miles north of St. Petersburg. She said Saturday still felt like a normal summer day, with the public ramp across the street packed with people launching boats.
“Today is business as usual, which is kind of weird,” Lothrop told The Associated Press by phone.
Workers at his marina have been preparing since Tuesday, securing boats stored on racks, stowing toolboxes and tying everything down.
“Right now what we’re doing is mostly tying up boats,” Lothrop said.
Before closing time on Saturday, Lothrop planned to lift computers off the floor, sandbags and doors with duct tape. Last year’s Hurricane Idalia pushed about a foot of water into the store.
Betti Silverman, whose Crystal River home was under evacuation orders, said she doubted her family would leave. Silverman’s beachfront home was flooded during Idalia just as they were moving in, destroying moving boxes and furniture stored in the garage. But she said the forecast for this storm is not that severe.
“We’ve been in Florida our whole lives — South Florida — so hurricanes aren’t really a big, big thing,” Silverman said.
On Friday, crews removed floating cranes from a bridge construction project in Tampa Bay, tying down 74 barges and 24 floating cranes and anchoring them until the storm passed, project engineer Marianne Brinson told the Tampa Bay Times. Crews also set cranes ashore aside.
Pinellas County has paused a $5 million beach renovation project, necessitated in part by erosion from previous storms.
For some, the name Debby evokes bad memories of a tropical storm of the same name in 2012, which caused $250 million in losses and eight deaths, including seven in Florida. That storm dumped torrential rain down the West Coast as far north as Florida, including an astronomical 29 inches (730 mm) south of Tallahassee.
Meanwhile, far from Mexico in the Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Carlotta continued to move west with maximum sustained winds of 145 km/h (90 mph). The hurricane center said Carlotta was expected to begin losing strength on Sunday and would likely dissipate into a remnant of storms within three to four days.
Further west, Tropical Storm Daniel formed in the Pacific on Saturday, but was 1,500 miles (2,400 km) off the southern tip of Baja California and was also expected to dissipate without making landfall.
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