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Miami, Aug 4 (AP) Tropical Storm Debby strengthened rapidly Sunday and was expected to become a hurricane as it moved through the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, bringing with it the threat of devastating floods to the southeast Atlantic coast later in the week.
The storm was likely to become a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall Monday in the Big Bend region of Florida, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
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From there, the storm is expected to move eastward over northern Florida and then stall over the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina, drenching the region with the potential of record-setting rains totalling up to 30 inches (76 cm) beginning Tuesday.
“There's some really amazing rainfall totals being forecast and amazing in a bad way,” Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said at a briefing Sunday. “That would be record-breaking rainfall associated with a tropical cyclone for both the states of Georgia and South Carolina if we got up to the 30 inch level.”
The flooding impacts, which could last through Friday, are expected to be especially severe in low-lying areas near the coast, including Savannah, Georgia; Hilton Head, South Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina.
The hurricane centre said in an update posted at 11 am Sunday that Debby was located about 130 miles (210 km) west-southwest of Tampa, Florida, and about 160 miles (260 km) south-southwest of Cedar Key, Florida. The storm was moving north-northwest at 13 mph (21 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 kph), up from 50 mph (80) just a few hours ago.
Officials also warned of life-threatening storm surge along Florida's Gulf Coast, with 6 to 10 feet of inundation expected Monday between the Ochlockonee and Suwannee rivers.
“I'd urge all Floridians to be cognizant of the fact that we are going to have a hurricane hit the state, probably a Category 1, but it could be a little bit more powerful than that,” Florida Gov Ron DeSantis said in a Sunday morning briefing.
“But we are absolutely going to see a lot of rainfall. We are going to see a lot of saturation. We are going to see flooding events," he said. “There is also going to be power outages.”
DeSantis said that, for the first time, constructed flood control devices are being placed at utility stations to try to minimize the risk of power interruptions because of flooding.
“We think that is going to be able to mitigate some of the power outages,” DeSantis said.
Meanwhile, wind and thunderstorms have spread over a broad area including southern Florida, the Florida Keys and the Bahamas.
Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season after Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris, all of which formed in June.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami predicted the system will strengthen as it curves off the southwest Florida coast, where the water has been extremely warm.
A hurricane warning was issued for parts of the Big Bend and the Florida Panhandle, while tropical storm warnings were posted for Florida's West Coast, the southern Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas. A tropical storm watch extended farther west into the Panhandle. A warning means storm conditions are expected within 36 hours, while a watch means they are possible within 48 hours.
Tropical storms and hurricanes can trigger river flooding and overwhelm drainage systems and canals. Forecasters warned of 6 to 12 inches (150mm to 300 mm) of rain and up to 18 inches (450 mm) in isolated areas of Florida, which could create “locally considerable” flash and urban flooding. Forecasters also warned of moderate flooding for some rivers along Florida's West Coast. (AP)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
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