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STORY: Tropical Storm Debby is now expected to strengthen rapidly into a hurricane before hitting Florida's Gulf Coast in the Big Bend region by midday on Monday.

That’s according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center on Sunday.

It forecast life-threatening conditions, including storm surges up to 10 feet in some areas.

As Debby slowly moves north through the week, the storm could bring historic rainfall of between 10 and 20 inches and catastrophic flooding to Georgia and South Carolina.

The NHC also said local areas could receive 30 inches of rain by Friday morning.

:: NOAA

Jamie Rhome is the Deputy Director of the Hurricane Center.

"Because so many people are going to look at this storm is just a tropical storm, just a tropical storm, that's going to be a huge mistake. Because this slow, this really slow motion, is just going to dump historic amounts of rainfall anywhere in this purple area."

:: 2017

The storm could be likened to 2017’s Hurricane Harvey.

While Harvey was downgraded into a tropical storm as it moved inland over Texas, it lingered over the state, dumping about 50 inches of rain on Houston.

It's rated as one of the wettest storms in U.S. history, having caused more than 100 deaths and $125 billion in damage.

Preparing for Debby, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called up 3,000 National Guard troops and placed most of the state's cities and counties under emergency orders.

:: NOAA

Mandatory evacuations were ordered in parts of several Gulf Coast counties.

The governors of Georgia and South Carolina also declared states of emergency ahead of the storm.