Debby to become a hurricane before hitting Florida

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STORY: ::Tropical Storm Debby expected to become a hurricane

and make landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast Monday

:: August 4, 2024

:: NOAA

:: Michael Brennan, Director, National Hurricane Center

“There's going to be multiple hazards that are going to play out in association with Debby. Over the next 24 hours, we're going to focus on the Florida Big Bend coastline, where we're going to see the life threatening storm surge inundation, as well as hurricane force winds near where the landfall occurs. Then we're going to see longer term, a potentially catastrophic flooding event from heavy rainfall unfold, especially in coastal Georgia and coastal South Carolina as we go through the week."

:: Fort Myers Beach, Florida

:: Ron DeSantis, Governor, (R) Florida

"We're going to have a lot of inundation that is going to present hazards and it's going to present challenges, but we will respond appropriately, and we have everything staged, that we wanted to have staged." // "Do not go into flood waters. There could be dangerous debris. There could be downed power lines, and please do not drive your vehicles through flooded streets. The number one way we have fatalities as a result of floods is people trying to drive through the flood waters. So, it is a hazard, and please heed that."

As part of preparations, Governor DeSantis has called up 3,000 National Guard troops and placed most of Florida's cities and counties under emergency orders.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast life-threatening conditions, including storm surges up to 7 feet (2 meters). As it slowly moves north through the week, the storm may bring "potentially historic rainfall" of between 10 and 20 inches (25-50 cm) and catastrophic flooding to Georgia and South Carolina, it said.

Debby became a tropical storm late on Saturday. As of 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) Debby was about 130 miles (210 km) southwest of Tampa and moving toward the Gulf Coast at 13 mph (20 kph), with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph), the NHC said.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Florida and Georgia coasts from Ponte Verde Beach to the Savannah River, including the Fort Myers area, which was crushed by Hurricane Ian in 2022.