Tampa, Florida.- Tropical Storm Debby strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane as it approached Florida on Sunday night, the U.S. weather service reported.
Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, following Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris, all of which formed in June.
Forecasters warned that Debby’s heavy rains could trigger catastrophic flooding in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia.
The storm is expected to make landfall around midday Monday in Florida’s Big Bend region, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. A tornado warning was in effect for parts of Florida and Georgia until 6 a.m. Monday.
“Right now we’re trying to secure everything to keep it from floating away,” said Sheryl Horne, whose family owns the Shell Island Fishing Camp along the Wakulla River in St. Marks, Florida, where some clients have moved their boats inland. The Big Bend region was battered last year by Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall at Category 3 strength.
“I’m used to storms and I’m used to cleaning up after storms,” Horne said.
Debby is forecast to move eastward over northern Florida and then station itself over coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina, where it will bring potentially record-setting rainfall totaling up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) by Tuesday. Authorities also warned of a dangerous storm surge on Florida’s Gulf Coast, with flooding of 6 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3 meters) between the Ochlockonee and Suwannee rivers.
“Some really surprising rainfall totals are forecast, and surprising in a bad way,” NHC Director Michael Brennan said at a news conference. “That would be record tropical cyclone rainfall for Georgia and South Carolina if we get to the 30-inch (76-centimeter) level.”
Flooding, which could last through Friday, is expected to be especially severe in low-lying areas near the coast, including Savannah, Georgia; Hilton Head, South Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina. North Carolina officials are monitoring the storm’s progress.
Officials in Savannah said the area could see a month’s worth of rain in four days if the system stalls over the region.
“This is a significant storm. The word historic cannot be understated here,” Savannah Mayor Van R. Johnson said during a news conference.
The hurricane center said at 11 p.m. that Debby was located about 100 miles (161 kilometers) west of Tampa, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (120 kilometers per hour). It was moving north at 12 mph (19 kph).
Debby’s outer cloud bands brushed Florida’s west coast, flooding streets and causing power outages. Sarasota County officials said most roads on Siesta Key, a barrier island off the coast of Sarasota, were under water.
At a press conference Sunday afternoon, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned that the storm could bring “very, very significant flooding that will occur across north-central Florida.”
He said it would follow a similar path to Hurricane Idalia, which hit the state last year, but would be “a lot wetter. We’re going to see a lot more flooding.”
A hurricane watch was in effect for parts of the Big Bend region and the rest of northwestern Florida, while tropical storm warnings were also in effect for the state’s west coast, the southern Keys and Dry Tortugas National Park. A tropical storm warning extended farther west into the northwestern peninsula.
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