Tropical storm Debby is expected to reach the Big Bend in Florida early Monday morning. The storm has strengthened to a category 1 hurricane — the lowest speed category — based on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale Sunday night, according to the National Hurricane Center.
As of 5 a.m. EDT on Monday, the center of the storm was located approximately 70 miles south-southeast of Tallahassee, Florida, and 45 miles northwest of Cedar Key, Florida.
The storm’s maximum winds reached 80 mph, exceeding the 74 mph threshold to be classified as a hurricane. Debby was traveling north-northeast at 10 mph. The formation of an eye over the eastern Gulf of Mexico indicated a notable intensification of the storm.
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Flash flooding, up to a few feet, has already occurred in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Several other locations, including St. Petersburg by Tampa Bay, are reporting overwash.
“The flooding threat from Debby could lead to a life-threatening and catastrophic flooding disaster in communities across the Southeast if this storm slows down or stalls out,” said AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jon Porter in a press release.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for 10 Florida counties shortly before 5 a.m. on Monday morning: Northwestern Polk County, Sumter County, Levy County, Citrus County, Hernando County, Hillsborough County, Manatee County, Pasco County, Pinellas County, and Sarasota County.
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A tornado watch is currently in place until 4 p.m. in 29 Florida counties and 14 counties in Georgia.
Hurricane Debby is expected to move North and reach Georgia Tuesday morning. In the next few days, Debby will shift towards South and North Carolina. Meteorologists are warning that Debby might lose its intensity by Monday night but “re-emerge” again over the Atlantic and bring more damage along the East coast until Friday.
You can watch the up-to-date predictions of the storm with Windy’s hurricane tracker.
Even though Debby is classed as a category 1 hurricane, it could cause as much damage as category 3, AccuWeather warns. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale only accounts for wind speed while the AccuWeather scale takes rainfall and severe thunderstorms into consideration.
“Do not be lulled into any false sense of security that Debby is presently rated as a tropical storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. There are many cases, such as Florence in 2018, where a Category 1 hurricane or tropical storm caused catastrophic flooding,” said Porter in a press release.
AccuWeather meteorologists also warn that the long hours of rain and strong waves on the coast could prevent the floods from draining into the sea, making the impact and duration of the flash flood worse.
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