“Debby” to Florida – Yucatan Journal

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Debby was rapidly strengthening today and is forecast to become a hurricane as it moves across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, bringing with it the threat of devastating flooding to the southeastern coast of the United States in the coming days.

The storm will likely strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall Monday in the Big Bend region or the western panhandle of Florida, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

From there, the storm is expected to move north to Florida and then settle over coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina, where it will dump up to 30 inches of rain beginning Tuesday. Authorities also warned that storm surge along Florida’s Gulf Coast could be life-threatening, with flooding of 8 to 10 feet expected between the Ochlockonee and Suwannee rivers.

“Some really surprising rainfall totals are forecast, and surprising in a bad way,” Michael Brennan, director of the NHC, said at a news conference Sunday. “That would be record rainfall associated with a tropical cyclone for the states of Georgia and South Carolina if we get to the 30-inch level.”

Flooding, which could last through Friday, is expected to be severe in low-lying areas near the coast, including Savannah, Georgia; Hilton Head, South Carolina; and Charleston.

Officials in Savannah said the area could see a month’s worth of rain in four days if the system stalls over the region.

“This is a significant storm. The word historic cannot be understated here,” Savannah Mayor Van R. Johnson said during a news conference.

Debby’s outer cloud bands brushed Florida’s west coast, flooding streets and causing power outages. Sarasota County officials said most roads on Siesta Key, a barrier island off the coast of Sarasota, were under water.

On Sunday afternoon, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned that the storm could bring “very, very significant flooding to occur across north central Florida.”

He said it would follow a similar path to Hurricane Idalia, which hit the state last year, but would be “a lot wetter. We’re going to see a lot more flooding.”