MIAMI– Tropical Storm Debby rapidly strengthened on Sunday and was expected to become a hurricane as it moved across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, bringing with it the threat of devastating flooding on the southeast Atlantic coast later in the week.
The storm will likely become a Category 1 hurricane before hitting Florida’s Big Bend region on Monday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
From there, the storm is expected to move east over northern Florida and then stall over the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina, inundating the region with the potential for record rainfall totaling up to 30 inches (76 cm) from then on. of Tuesday.
“There are some really surprising rainfall totals being forecast, and surprising in a bad way,” said Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, at a news conference Sunday. “It would be record precipitation associated with a tropical cyclone for both the states of Georgia and South Carolina if we reached the 30-inch level.”
Impacts from the flooding, which could last through Friday, are expected to be especially severe in low-lying areas near the coast, including Savannah, Georgia; Hilton Head, South Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina.
The hurricane center said in an update posted at 11 a.m. Sunday that Debby was located about 130 miles (210 kilometers) west-southwest of Tampa, Florida, and about 160 miles (260 kilometers) south-southwest of Cedar Key, Florida. The storm was moving north-northwest at 13 mph (21 km/h) with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 km/h), up from 50 mph (80) just a few hours ago.
Authorities also warned of a life-threatening storm surge along Florida’s Gulf Coast, with 6 to 10 feet of flooding expected Monday between the Ochlockonee and Suwannee rivers.
“I would ask all Floridians to be aware of the fact that a hurricane will hit the state, probably Category 1, but it could be a little more powerful than that,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in a Sunday morning briefing.
“But we will definitely see a lot of rain. We will see a lot of saturation. We will see flooding,” he said. “There will also be power cuts.”
DeSantis said that for the first time, constructed flood control devices are being placed at utility stations to try to minimize the risk of power outages due to flooding.
“We believe this will be able to mitigate some of the power outages,” DeSantis said.
Meanwhile, winds and storms spread across a wide area, including South Florida, the Florida Keys and the Bahamas.
Debby is the fourth storm called of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, following Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl, and Tropical Storm Chris all formed in June.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami predicted the system will strengthen as it curves off the southwest coast of Florida, where the water has been extremely warm.
A hurricane watch was issued for parts of Big Bend and the Florida Panhandle, while tropical storm watches were posted for Florida’s west coast, southern Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas. A tropical storm warning extended further west into the 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 6 to 12 inches (150 mm to 300 mm) of rain and up to 18 inches (450 mm) in isolated areas of Florida, which could create “locally considerable” flashes and urban flooding. Forecasters also warned of moderate flooding in some rivers along Florida’s west coast.
Flat Florida is prone to flooding even on sunny days, and the storm was forecast to bring a wave of 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters) along most of the Gulf Coast, including Gulf Coast. Tampa, with a storm surge of up to 7 feet (2.1 meters) north of there 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.
Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast estimated that 21,000 people live in his county’s evacuation zone. Authorities rescued 73 people from storm surge flooding during last year’s Hurricane Idalia. Prendergast said by phone that he hopes not to repeat the affair with Debby.
“Once the storm hits, we simply don’t have enough first responders in our agency and among the other first responders in the county to go in and rescue everyone who might need to be rescued,” he said.
DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 61 of Florida’s 67 counties, with the National Guard activating 3,000 guard members. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued his own emergency proclamation Saturday.
The White House said federal and Florida officials were in contact and that FEMA had “pre-positioned” resources, including water and food.
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 be prepared to weather a tropical storm,” said Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.
Florida State University in Tallahassee will be closed Monday due to the storm, the school announced.
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, project engineer Marianne Brinson told the Tampa Bay Times. Crews also set cranes ashore aside.
Emergency managers in New England and New York were already monitoring the storm’s path for the possibility of remnants reaching their states. States like New York and Vermont have been hit by heavy rain and thunderstorms in recent weeks and are still dealing with flooding and saturated terrain.
Vermont, in particular, experienced two separate floods in July, and another could cause severe damage to communities still recovering from previous floods. The July storms came on the heels of “last summer’s flooding, destroying infrastructure, homes and property,” Gov. Phil Scott said Saturday.
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, including an astronomical 29 inches (730 mm) south of Tallahassee.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
