Everything indicates that Debbya tropical storm moving through the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida, it will become a hurricane next week. The main concern is the threat of devastating floods to the Atlantic coast of the southeast of the USA.
He US National Hurricane Center (NOAA)Miami-based Hurricane Center said Debby will likely strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall Monday in Florida’s Big Bend region.
From there, the storm is expected to move eastward over northern Florida and then stall over coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina, drenching the region with the potential for record rainfall of up to 30 inches beginning Tuesday.
“Some really surprising and surprising in a bad way rainfall totals are forecast,” he said. Michael Brennandirector of NOAA, at a news conference on 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.”
The effects of the flooding, which could last until Friday, are expected to are especially severe in low-lying areas near the coastincluding Savannah, Georgia; Hilton Head, South Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina.
The hurricane center said at 2 p.m. Sunday that Debby was located about 125 miles (205 kilometers) west-southwest of Tampa, Florida. The storm was moving at 13 miles per hour (21 kilometers per hour) with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 kph).
Authorities also warned about a potentially deadly storm surge along Florida’s Gulf Coast, with 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3 meters) of inundation expected Monday between the Ochlockonee and Suwannee rivers.
“I urge all Floridians to be aware that a hurricane will hit the state, probably a Category 1 hurricane, but it could be a little more powerful than that,” said Florida Governor, Ron DeSantisat a briefing on Sunday morning.
“But we are definitely going to see a lot of rain. We are going to see a lot of saturation. We are going to see flooding,” he warned. “There will also be power outages.”
