Hurricane Debby strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico as it made landfall on Florida’s Big Bend early Monday while its bands continued to whip across the state with the threat of tornadoes, according to the National Hurricane Center.
What had been a tropical storm most of Sunday formed into a Category 1 hurricane before midnight, and continued to intensify overnight making landfall near Steinhatchee with sustained winds of 80 mph around 7 a.m.
The NHC had reported a wind gust at the time of 95 mph at a weather station on nearby Horseshoe Beach. The path fell just 15 miles south of where Hurricane Idalia struck in 2023.
Pictures: Hurricane Debby impacts Florida
As of 11 a.m., the NHC reported Debby had returned to tropical storm strength as it moved inland with 70 mph sustained winds about 35 miles west of Lake City, Florida and 120 miles south of Valdosta, Georgia moving north-northeast at 8 mph. Debby’s tropical-storm-force winds were observed 140 miles from Debby’s core. A gust of 54 mph was recorded within the hour in Live Oak, and a gust of 48 mph in Jacksonville.
The National Weather Service also issued an updated tornado watch Monday morning that includes Orange, Lake, Seminole, Osceola, Polk and Volusia plus Gulf Coast and North Florida counties that runs through 4 p.m. The outer bands to the east of Debby’s center have spawned several tornado warnings across Florida overnight as the storm churned north.
A late Sunday tornado warning was issued in Cocoa, and the winds flipped five campers on their side at an RV park, according to Orlando Sentinel news partner Spectrum News 13. At least one resident was transported to an area hospital.
HURRICANE DEBBY IMPACTS in Cocoa: A total of 5 flipped RVs. Some residents without power or water. Live coverage on @MyNews13 pic.twitter.com/SiOqdUFV4E
— Destiny Wiggins (@_DestinyWiggins) August 5, 2024
The storm has already sent storm surge to flood the coastal areas of cities from Fort Myers north to the Panhandle while much of the west coast endured power outages, downed trees and some structural damage as the storm progressed north on Sunday.
Images posted on social media by Cedar Key Fire Rescue early Monday showed floodwaters rising along the streets of the city, located south of where the storm made landfall. Water was “coming in at a pretty heavy pace,” the post said.
Storm surge flooding from #HurricaneDebby #hurricane #Suwannee #Florida @jpetramala @NWSTampaBay @NWSTallahassee pic.twitter.com/SdQYeNgTjd
— WxChasing- Brandon Clement (@bclemms) August 5, 2024
While wind and storm surge are an immediate threat, flooding remains a major concern in the days to come, said Gov. Ron DeSantis during a Monday morning press conference.
“This storm has produced and will likely produce significant flooding events from Sarasota-Bradenton area all the way up to northern Florida,” he said. “There’s a threat, ongoing threat of that, over the ensuing days.”
We are a mile up the road out of Horseshoe Beach, FL and the surge is STILL pushing in. Search and rescue vehicles with boats are not able to get into town, the water is too deep #flwx @SevereStudios pic.twitter.com/9bcVuXoScl
— Sierra Lindsey (@Sierra_Lindsey3) August 5, 2024
He urged Floridians to remain inside.
“Don’t go out into the storm. Don’t drive on the roads, particularly when they’re flooded,” he said noting some traffic accidents already across the state.
How Hurricane Debby is impacting Central Florida
One semi truck, the driver of which was found dead inside the cab of the vehicle, had veered off a bridge into the water off Interstate 75 in Tampa, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. FHP also reported another two-car crash in Dixie County on Sunday night that left two people dead and one person hospitalized stating witnesses said it looked like one of the vehicles had lost control because of a wet roadway and inclement weather.
“When you have flood situations, that is the number one way where we will see fatalities is by people being out on the roads and hydroplaning or having other problems,” he said. “So do not go walk or drive into flooded roadways. There are hazards there. They’re dangerous. We want everybody to be safe.”
The traffic fatalities may eventually be included in the tally blamed on Debby. Another death was reported by the Levy County Sheriff’s Office, which confirmed a 13-year-old boy had been crushed inside a mobile home that was hit by a fallen tree in Fanning Springs on Monday morning.
Sheriff McCallum has responded to the scene personally, and is with the family. Our thoughts and prayers are with this family as they deal with this tragedy. We encourage everyone to use extreme caution as they begin to assess and clean up the damage. Downed powerlines and falling trees are among the many hazards. One life is too many. Please be safe.
The governor had declared a state of emergency last week to most of the state’s counties, and President Biden approved the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all disaster relief efforts.
The Florida National Guard has 3,000 service members set for the response efforts along Florida State Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and county emergency response personnel with an arsenal of high-water vehicles and other emergency response equipment.
It’s the fourth hurricane to hit Florida in August since 2000 following Hurricane Charley in 2004, Katrina in 2005 and last year’s Hurricane Idalia.
GeoColor imagery via @NOAA's #GOESEast 🛰️ shows #HurricaneDebby making landfall near Steinhatchee, Florida, in the state's Big Bend region. #Debby, a Category 1 storm, is expected to bring dangerous storm surge and flooding to the southeastern U.S.
Latest:… pic.twitter.com/NuO50vkL4h
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) August 5, 2024
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said some places have already seen 10 to 12 inches in southwest Florida with rivers and streams expected to go into flood stage.
“This is going to be an event that is going to be probably here for the next five to seven days, maybe as long as 10 days depending on how much rainfall we get, so we are not running anywhere,” he said. “We are staying put and we’re going to make sure that we’re here to respond.”
He said first responders have access to 600,000 gallons of fuel across six fuel depots while the state has 850 debris disaster management sites for cleanup.
In an effort to stem any post-storm deaths and injuries, he urged those with damage on their homes to not to try and take care of it themselves.
“Please do not get up on a ladder. Do not try to put a tarp on a roof. Do not try to cut a limb. We have volunteer organizations that will come and help you with that,” Guthrie said asking people instead contact their local emergency management agency. “We will make sure somebody comes and helps you on your property. Do not risk yourself do not risk injury. We will come and help you.”
Tropical Storm forced winds impacting Cedar Key, Florida as streets have begun flooding. Large waves hitting the seawall and washing over into the roadway. #Debby is on its way@MyRadarWX @Sierra_Lindsey3 #debby #TropicalStormDebby #HurricaneDebby pic.twitter.com/DAg4bfUVSd
— Jordan Hall (@JordanHallWX) August 4, 2024
Storm surge was forecast to raise water levels from 6-10 feet on parts of Big Bend closest to the storm’s center. A tide station in Cedar Key on Monday morning recorded water level at 4.6 feet above normal, the NHC reported.
A tropical storm warning remains in effect for the Florida coast from Indian Pass down to the middle of Longboat Key and on the east coast from St. Augustine north to the South Santee River, South Carolina. A storm surge warning is in effect from the Florida coast from Longboat Key north to the Ochlockonee River and on the Georgia and South Carolina coast from the mouth of the St. Mary’s River to the South Santee River.
“A gradual decrease in forward speed with a turn toward the east is expected later today and Tuesday,” said NHC senior hurricane specialist Richard Pasch. “On the forecast track, the center will move across southeastern Georgia tonight and Tuesday, and move offshore of the South Carolina coast by late Tuesday and Wednesday. … Additional weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours.”
As of 11 a.m., more than 280,000 customers are without power in Florida and nearly another 20,000 in Georgia, according to poweroutage.us, More than 26,000 remain without power in Pinellas County, which was lashed all day Sunday by bands from the storm. More than 13,000 were without power in Lake County.
DeSantis said power issues are not as bad as Idalia and nowhere near what was seen with 2022’s Hurricane Ian.
“We have a lot of restoration personnel ready to go to get it back on,” he said. “We do have 17,000 linemen that are ready to assist with restoring power immediately and I know a lot of the utilities have already restored hundreds of thousands of folks starting yesterday.”
Lake County was under a flood watch having already seen from 1-2.5 inches of rain and up to 3 more inches forecast through 8 a.m. Monday.
The NWS said additional rainfall of 2-5 inches was expected especially northwest of Interstate 4, with areas southeast to get up to 2 inches. Localized flooding is possible, the NWS said.
The system had grown since becoming Tropical Depression Four late Friday and developing into a tropical storm on Saturday.
The NHC expects rainfall from 6 to 12 inches with some areas getting up to 18 inches across portions of Florida, and up to 30 inches across parts of the Southeast U.S. this weekend and through Thursday morning that could cause flash and urban flooding as well as some isolated river flooding.
“This potentially historic rainfall will likely result in areas of catastrophic flooding,” NHC forecasters said.
Also on Sunday, the NHC began tracking a new system with a chance to form into the season’s next tropical depression or storm.
As of the NHC’s 8 a.m. tropical outlook Monday, the tropical wave was located near the Caribbean’s Windward Islands with disorganized showers and thunderstorms.
“Any development of this system should be slow to occur during the next couple of days while the system moves westward over the eastern Caribbean Sea,” forecasters said. “Environmental conditions are expected to become more conducive for development later this week as the system moves across the western Caribbean Sea or the southern Gulf of Mexico.”
The NHC gives it a 10% chance to develop in the next two days and 30% in the next seven days.
If it were to form into a named storm, it could take on the name Tropical Storm Ernesto.
Tropical Storm Debby became the fourth official system of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. The others were Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris.
Hurricane season runs from June 1-Nov. 30, but the height of storm formation runs from mid-August into October.
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