From left to right, Matthew Blowers and Patrick Brafford prepare to guard the lifeguard tower in response to a potential storm at Clearwater Beach on Saturday, in Clearwater, Florida.
Jefferee Woo/AP/Tampa Bay Times
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Jefferee Woo/AP/Tampa Bay Times
MIAMI — A tropical depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Debby north of Cuba on Saturday and is forecast to become a hurricane as it moves across the Gulf of Mexico on a path that could collide with the Florida coast.
The National Hurricane Center said in an update posted at 2 a.m. Sunday that Debby was about 65 miles (105 kilometers) west-northwest of Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida and about 230 miles (370 kilometers) south-southwest of Tampa. The storm was moving northwest at 14 mph (22 km/h) with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 km/h).
Winds and thunderstorms have spread across a wide area including southern Florida, the Florida Keys and the Bahamas. A hurricane warning is in effect for coastal areas of the state, with a tropical storm warning for the Florida Keys.
Hurricane Debby is expected to bring heavy rain and coastal flooding to parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast on Sunday night, and the system is expected to make landfall as a hurricane on Monday and move across northern Florida into the Atlantic.
Forecasters warn that heavy rain could also hit northern Florida and the Atlantic coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina early next week.
Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season following Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl, and Tropical Storm Chris, all of which formed in June.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami predicts the system will strengthen as it moves across the southwest coast of Florida, where the waters are extremely warm. More rapid intensification is expected late Sunday.
A hurricane warning has been issued for parts of the Big Bend and the Florida Panhandle, while tropical storm warnings have been issued for the West Coast of Florida, the southern Florida Keys and the Dry Tortugas. A tropical storm warning extends further west into the Panhandle. A warning means hurricane conditions are expected within 36 hours, while a watch means they could occur within 48 hours.
Tropical storms and hurricanes could cause river flooding and inundate drainage systems and waterways. Forecasters warn of rainfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches (150mm to 300mm) and up to 18 inches (450mm) in isolated areas, which could cause flash flooding and “locally significant” urban flooding. Forecasters also warn of moderate flooding in some rivers along Florida’s West Coast.
Heaviest rainfall possible in Georgia, South Carolina
Some of the heaviest rain could actually hit next week along the Atlantic Coast from Jacksonville, Florida, through coastal Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The storm is expected to slow after making landfall.
“We could see some stalling or meandering around the coastal areas of the southeastern United States,” National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said at a press briefing on Saturday. “So that will exacerbate not only the risk of rain but also the potential for storm surge and some strong winds.”
Flat Florida is prone to flooding even on sunny days, and the storm is expected to bring storm surges of 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters) along much of the Gulf Coast, including Tampa Bay, with storm tides as high as 7 feet (2.1 meters) north of the sparsely populated Big Bend area.
Forecasters warned of “life-threatening storm surge flooding” in an area that includes Hernando Beach, Crystal River, Steinhatchee and Cedar Key. Officials in Citrus and Levy counties ordered mandatory evacuations of coastal areas, while those in Hernando, Manatee, Pasco and Taylor counties called for voluntary evacuations. Shelters were open in those counties and several others.
Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast estimates that 21,000 people live in his county’s evacuation zone. Officials rescued 73 people from storm surge flooding during Hurricane Idalia last year. Prendergast said by phone that he hopes the same thing doesn’t happen to Debbie.
“After the storm hit, we didn’t have enough first responders in our agency and other first responders in the county to go rescue all the people who might need to be rescued,” he said.
Preparing for floods
Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 61 of Florida’s 67 counties, with 3,000 National Guard members deployed. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared his own state of emergency on Saturday.
The White House said federal and Florida officials have been in contact and FEMA has “prepared” resources including water and food.
In Tampa alone, officials distributed more than 30,000 sandbags to prevent flooding.
“We’ve cleared storm drains. We’ve inspected and loaded generators. We’re doing everything we need to be prepared for a tropical storm,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said.
Christina Lothrop is general manager at Blue Pelican Marina in Hernando Beach, a barrier island about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of St. Petersburg. She said the public ramp was jammed with people launching boats on Saturday.
“It’s pretty normal these days, but it’s also pretty strange,” Lothrop told The Associated Press by phone.
However, workers at her marina had been preparing since Tuesday, by securing the boat on racks, storing tool boxes and tying everything down.
“Right now, the work we do is mainly mooring boats,” Lothrop said.
Before closing on Saturday, Lothrop planned to lift the computer off the floor and put sandbags and tape on the door. Idalia pushed about a foot of water (30 centimeters) into the store.
Betti Silverman, whose Crystal River home is under evacuation orders, said Saturday afternoon that she doubted her family would leave. Silverman’s waterfront home was flooded by Hurricane Idalia shortly after her family moved in, damaging boxes and furniture in the garage. But she said the weather forecast for Debby didn’t look too dire.
“We’ve lived in Florida our whole lives, in South Florida, so hurricanes aren’t really that big of a deal,” Silverman said.
On Friday, crews pulled the floating cranes out of a bridge project across Tampa Bay, tied down 74 barges and 24 floating cranes and anchored them, project engineer Marianne Brinson told the Tampa Bay Times. Crews also placed land-based cranes on either side.
Pinellas County has paused a $5 million beach restoration project, in part due to erosion from past storms.
For some, the name Debby evokes bad memories of the 2012 tropical storm of the same name that caused $250 million in damage and eight deaths, including seven in the Sunshine State. That storm dumped torrential rain, including an astronomical 29 inches (730 mm) just south of Tallahassee.
More storms in the Pacific, but no threat to land
More than 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) from Mexico in the Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Carlotta continues to move west with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h). Carlotta will begin to weaken on Saturday and is likely to dissipate into a remnant storm.
Further west, Tropical Storm Daniel formed in the Pacific Ocean. It was more than 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from the southern tip of Baja California and was also expected to dissipate without making landfall.
