Debby packing a stronger punch as it eyes the Florida coastline

Parts of Florida are on high alert as Debby continues to intensify, and is expected to reach hurricane status by Sunday night ahead of a projected landfall Monday morning.

Warnings and watches span the state’s western shores, with tropical storm and storm surge alerts getting extended and/or added.

Vacationers are advised to keep a close watch on forecasts over the coming days. Prepare a hurricane kit and stay alert for potential watches, warnings, and evacuation orders as this system progresses.

Keep up with all the latest news and information this season at The Weather Network’s hurricanes hub page.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Debby’s maximum sustained winds have increased to near 100 km/h, with higher expectations, on Sunday morning.

Continued strengthening is forecast, and Debby is expected to become a hurricane by Sunday night before it reaches the Florida Big Bend coast Monday morning. Weakening is expected on Monday and Tuesday after Debby moves inland.

Debby is then expected to move slowly across northern Florida and southern Georgia Monday and Tuesday.

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A hurricane warning is in place for the Florida coast from the Suwannee River to the Ochlockonee River, with tropical storm warnings in effect for other portions of the region.

As well, a storm surge warning is now in effect for the Florida coast from the middle of Longboat Key northward to Indian Pass including Tampa Bay.

Flash flooding from heavy rainfall is far and away the greatest threat with any landfalling storm, even one that doesn’t have a name.

Debby is expected to produce rainfall totals of 150 mm to 300 mm, with maximum amounts of 450 mm, across portions of northern Florida through Friday morning. The rainfall will likely result in areas of considerable flash and urban flooding, with significant river flooding expected.

Additionally, folks throughout western and northern Florida, as well as southern Georgia, can expect a risk for tornadoes through Monday morning, as well as rough surf, and rip currents as a result of this disturbance.

Debby will enter a complex environment that’ll make her future track and intensity a bit more uncertain. Two strong ridges of high pressure, one over the western Atlantic and another over the southern US, will each push and pull on the storm.

As a result of that setup, the storm is likely to stall over or near Georgia and the Carolinas, drenching the region with a prolonged rainfall event. This is likely to cause major flooding issues throughout the region.

Across portions of southeastern Georgia and South Carolina, 250 mm to 500 mm of rainfall is expected, with local amounts potentially reaching 760 mm.

“This potentially historic rainfall may result in areas of catastrophic flooding,” the NHC warns.

Anyone visiting popular vacation destinations along the Atlantic coast, including the cities of Savannah, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and Wilmington, should keep a very close eye on this storm and prepare to act if watches or warnings are issued for the region.

It’s still too soon to say what, if any, impacts this system could have on Atlantic Canada late this week. Stay tuned and keep checking back for details.

Header image courtesy of NOAA.

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