Hurricane warnings as Tropical Storm Debby moves through Gulf toward Florida
Tropical Storm Debby strengthened rapidly Sunday and was expected to become a hurricane as it moved 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, bringing the potential for a “historic rainfall event and potentially catastrophic flooding” that could begin early Tuesday and last through Friday, according to Dwight Koehn, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Charleston, S.C.
The flooding impacts could be especially severe in low-lying areas near the coast, including the Georgia city of Savannah, and Hilton Head and and Charleston in South Carolina, he said.
The hurricane center said in an update posted at 11 a.m. Sunday that Debby was located about 130 miles west-southwest of Tampa, Fla., and about 160 miles south-southwest of Cedar Key, Fla. The storm was moving north-northwest at 13 mph with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph.
“We are going to see flooding events,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a Sunday morning briefing. “There is also going to be power outages.”
Debby, Oscar, Tony: What’s in a storm’s name? How does a tropical storm or hurricane get its moniker? Will yours come up on the forecasters’ list?
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.
Meanwhile, wind and thunderstorms have spread over a broad area including the Florida Keys and the Bahamas.
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 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. A warning means storm conditions are expected within 36 hours, while a watch means they are possible within 48 hours.
Forecasters warned of 6 to 12 inches of rain and up to 18 inches in isolated areas, which could create “locally considerable” flash and urban flooding. Forecasters also warned of moderate flooding for some rivers along Florida’s West Coast.
Storm surge expected to hit Gulf Coast, including Tampa Bay
Flat Florida is prone to flooding even on sunny days, and the storm was predicted to bring a surge of 2 to 4 feet along most of the Gulf Coast, including Tampa Bay, with a storm tide of up to 7 feet 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.
Flood preparations underway
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 made his own emergency proclamation on Saturday.
The White House said federal and Florida officials were in touch and FEMA “pre-positioned” resources including water and food.
In Tampa alone, officials gave out more than 30,000 sandbags to barricade against flooding.
“We’ve got our stormwater drains cleared out. We’ve got our generators all checked and full. We’re doing everything that we need to be prepared to face a tropical storm,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said.
The neurotoxin domoic acid is blamed for the extreme distress and deaths of many sea lions along the Central Coast, as well as the deaths of two dolphins and two seals.
On Friday, crews pulled floating cranes away from a bridge construction project across Tampa Bay, lashing together 74 barges and 24 floating cranes and anchoring them, project engineer Marianne Brinson told the Tampa Bay Times. Crews also laid down cranes on land on their sides.
For some, the name Debby summons bad memories of a 2012 tropical storm of the same name that caused $250 million in losses and eight deaths, including seven in the Sunshine State. That storm dumped torrential rains, including an astronomical 29 inches south of Tallahassee.
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