Tropical Storm Debby Spawns Tornado That Kills 1 In Florida; Could Strengthen During 48 Hours

A hard-to-predict Tropical Storm Debby continues to meander slowly to the Florida coast Sunday, spawning tornadoes in the central part of the state that has killed one woman.

The woman was found dead in Highlands County inside a home in Venus, some 120 miles south of Orlando, according to reports. Officials also found a child in the same home. The child is being treated at a local hospital.

Gloria Rybinski, emergency operations spokeswoman for Highland County, told CNN that two twisters destroyed four homes in the southern part of the county. It also damaged others.

The National Hurricane Center said Debby remains stationary. However, her heavy gusts of wind are affecting the coasts of the Florida Panhandle and west-central Florida.

As of 7 p.m. Sunday, Debby was located 115 miles south-southwest of Apalachicola, Fla., or about 195 miles east-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. It is packing maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Mississippi-Alabama border eastward to the Suwannee River, Fla. A watch is in effect for south of the Suwannee River to Englewood, Fla.

Forecasters say that Debby could possibly gradually strengthen during the next 48 hours.

Debby is the first named storm of 2012 to enter the Gulf of Mexico. Its strong winds and waves forced the closure nearly a quarter of offshore oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.