Tropical Storm Debby could be upgraded to hurricane status by Monday as it heads toward Florida from the Gulf of Mexico, weather officials have predicted.
Portions of Southwest Florida are already feeling the storm’s impact even before it makes it to land, with officials issuing tornado warnings, watches, and evacuations as the wind and rainfall pick up, FOX Weather reported.
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), there is danger of a “life-threatening storm surge” along parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast, with six to ten feet of flooding expected between the Ochlockonee and Suwanee Rivers.
“There have been evacuations that have been ordered in these areas,” NHC director Mike Brennan said of those regions along the state’s western coast and panhandle in a video posted to X:
Attention #Florida, #Georgia and #SouthCarolina! Here is a quick overview from the NHC on #Debby. Please heed the advice of your local emergency officials and complete your preparations today. https://t.co/BGigqtveAv #SC #FL #GA #tropicalstorm #nationalhurricanecenter #NOAA pic.twitter.com/UhYMY10FDS
— National Hurricane Center (@NWSNHC) August 4, 2024
The evacuations are mainly around the Big Bend area of the coastline, with the state’s Division of Emergency Management showing that urgent orders are in place for areas in Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Levy, and Wakulla counties.
“You have a few more hours to get to a safe place before conditions begin to deteriorate by this evening,” Brennan warned, before explaining that Debby is set to flood other parts of the southeastern U.S. after Florida.
The NHC is “especially concerned” about the area from Savannah, Georgia, and up through Charleston, South Carolina, to Myrtle Beach due to “excessive rainfall,” the weather expert added.