Tropical Storm Debby was rapidly intensifying Sunday as the fourth-named storm of the season churns toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, where it’s expected to strengthen to a hurricane before making landfall.
Debby, which is on track to slam into the Big Bend region of Florida on Monday, was about 195 miles southwest of Tampa early Sunday and was quickly moving northwest at 13 mph with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.
Parts of southern Florida have already begun feeling Debby’s wrath as high winds and thunderstorms pound the region. Hurricane and tropical storm warnings are in effect for areas along Florida’s coast — where heavy rains are expected to hit Sunday night.
Forecasters warned of a “danger of life-threatening storm surge” in parts of Florida including Hernando Beach, Crystal River, Steinhatchee and Cedar Key and local officials in Citrus and Levy counties have ordered a mandatory evacuation of coastal areas.
The storm is predicted to bring a surge of 2 to 4 feet of water along the Gulf Coast, including Tampa Bay, with a storm tide of up to 7 feet north of there in the Big Bend region.
While Debby is expected to unleash buckets of rain in Florida, some of the heaviest rainfall may come later in the week along the coast from Jacksonville as it moves north through coastal regions of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Debby, the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, is expected to slow after making landfall.
“We could see a stall or a meandering motion around coastal portions of the southeastern United States,” National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said during a Saturday briefing. “So that’s going to exacerbate not just the rainfall risk, but also the potential for storm surge and some strong winds.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 61 of the Sunshine State’s 67 counties while Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp made his own emergency proclamation on Saturday.
The National Guard activated 3,000 members in Florida and the White House said officials were in touch and FEMA had “pre-positioned” resources available, including food and water.
With Post wires.
