Tropical Storm Debby Moves Towards Florida's Gulf Coast, Officials Issue Evacuation

As Tropical Storm Debby tore across the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, it is fast strengthening and moving towards the coast of Florida's Big Bend, where forecasters said it will make landfall as a hurricane on Monday morning.

According to Reuters, The National Hurricane Centre stated that Debby, which became the fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season on Saturday, is expected to bring intense rain and coastal flooding to a large portion of Florida's Gulf Coast starting on Sunday night.

According to an alert from the National Hurricane Centre, the storm was located approximately 205 miles south-southwest of Cedar Key and 155 miles southwest of Tampa on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. EDT. With maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (up from the hurricane center's earlier report of 50 mph) and stronger gusts, it was headed north-northwest at 13 mph. For the storm to be classified as a hurricane, its maximum sustained winds would have to be at least 74 mph.

The 8 a.m. alert stated that Debby was expected to cross the eastern Gulf of Mexico through Sunday night before making landfall early on Monday in the Big Bend, a region of Florida's Gulf Coast where the panhandle joins the peninsula. Tropical storm force winds reached as far as 140 miles from the storm's centre, and a wind gust of 57 mph was recorded at Sand Key in the Florida Keys shortly before the advisory was issued.

Officials in Florida's Citrus and Levy counties have issued mandatory evacuation orders to some 20,000 coastal residents, local outlet KHQA reports.

By Sunday, a large swath of southern Florida, the Florida Keys, and the Bahamas was covered in wind and thunderstorms.

Forecasters stated on Saturday that Debby began as a depression and eventually developed into a tropical storm over the southeast Gulf of Mexico. According to the hurricane centre, Debby was churning in the eastern Gulf of Mexico late that night with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.

The storm centre stated that Debby will proceed slowly across northern Florida and southern Georgia on Monday and Tuesday after its anticipated clash with the coast of Florida's Big Bend region on Monday, reported The Independent.

While tropical storm warnings were posted for Florida's west coast, the southern Florida Keys, and the Dry Tortugas, a hurricane warning was issued for portions of the Big Bend and the Florida Panhandle. A tropical storm watch was in effect for the Panhandle and further west. If there is a watch, storm conditions could develop within 48 hours, whereas a warning indicates that they are anticipated within 36 hours.

Hurricanes and tropical storms have the potential to overflow the region's canals and drainage systems, causing river flooding. It may be the wettest downpour in history in states nearby. Through Friday morning, the hurricane centre predicted that 10 to 20 inches of rain, with locally as high as 30 inches, would fall on parts of southeast Georgia and South Carolina. In some places, that might result in severe and possibly widespread flooding.

Following the formation of Tropical Storms Alberto, Beryl, and Chris in June, Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. Forecasters had already warned of moderate flooding for certain rivers along Florida's west coast when Debby turned into a tropical storm on Saturday. The hurricane centre issued a warning on Sunday morning about storm surge along a significant portion of the coast, spanning about 200 miles between Yankeetown and Ochlockonee River.