MIAMI (news agencies) — Tropical Storm Debby strengthened rapidly Sunday and was expected to become a hurricane as it churned through the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, bringing with it the threat of devastating floods to the southeast Atlantic coast later in the week.
The storm was likely to become a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall Monday in the Big Bend region of Florida, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
From there, the storm is expected to move eastward over northern Florida and then stall over the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina, thrashing the region with the potential of record-setting rains totaling up to 30 inches (76 cm) beginning Tuesday. Officials also warned of life-threatening storm surge along Florida’s Gulf Coast, with 6 to 10 feet of inundation expected Monday between the Ochlockonee and Suwannee rivers.
“There’s some really amazing rainfall totals being forecast and amazing in a bad way,” Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said at a briefing Sunday. “That would be record-breaking rainfall associated with a tropical cyclone for both the states of Georgia and South Carolina if we got up to the 30 inch level.”
The flooding impacts, 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 2 p.m. Sunday that Debby was located about 125 miles (205 kilometers) west-southwest of Tampa, Florida. The storm at 13 mph (21 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 kph).
“I’d urge all Floridians to be cognizant of the fact that we are going to have a hurricane hit the state, probably a Category 1, but it could be a little bit more powerful than that,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a Sunday morning briefing.
“But we are absolutely going to see a lot of rainfall. We are going to see a lot of saturation. We are going to see flooding events,” he said. “There is also going to be power outages.”
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 interruptions because of flooding.
As Debby churned northward, the storm’s outer bands grazed the west coast of Florida on Sunday, flooding streets and bringing power outages. Sarasota County officials said most roadways on Siesta Key, a barrier island off the coast of Sarasota, were under water.
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 hurricane center predicted the system will strengthen as it curves off the southwest Florida coast, where the water has been extremely warm.
A hurricane warning was issued for parts of the Big Bend and the Florida Panhandle, while tropical storm warnings were posted for Florida’s West Coast, the southern Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas. A tropical storm watch extended farther west into the Panhandle.
Tropical storms and hurricanes can trigger river flooding and overwhelm drainage systems and canals. Forecasters warned of 6 to 12 inches (15 centimeters to 30 centimeters) of rain and up to 18 inches (46 centimeters) in isolated areas of Florida.
Flat Florida is prone to flooding even on sunny days, and the storm was predicted to bring a surge of 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters) along most of the Gulf Coast, including Tampa Bay, with a storm tide of up to 7 feet (2.1 meters) north of there in the sparsely populated Big Bend region.
Forecasters warned of “a danger of life-threatening storm surge inundation” in a region that includes Hernando Beach, Crystal River, Steinhatchee and Cedar Key. Officials in Citrus and Levy counties ordered a mandatory evacuation of coastal areas, while those in Hernando, Manatee, Pasco and Taylor counties called for voluntary evacuations. Shelters opened in those and some other counties.
Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast estimated 21,000 people live in his county’s evacuation zone.
Residents in Steinhatchee, Florida, which flooded during Hurricane Idalia in 2023, spent Sunday moving items to higher ground.
“I’ve been here 29 years. This isn’t the first time I’ve done it. Do you get used to it? No,” Mark Reblin, a business owner said by telephone as he moved items out of the liquor store he owns.
Reblin, who holds multiple positions in the town including with the local water board and chamber of commerce, said most people have rebuilt after Idalia.
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