Hurricane Debby Strengthens As Florida’s Gulf Coast Braces For Landfall

Forbes Business Breaking Hurricane Debby Strengthens As Florida’s Gulf Coast Braces For Landfall Siladitya Ray Forbes Staff Siladitya Ray is a New Delhi-based Forbes news team reporter. Following Aug 5, 2024, 01:32am EDT Updated Aug 5, 2024, 06:32am EDT Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Tropical Storm Debby became a Category
Hurricane Debby Strengthens As Florida’s Gulf Coast Braces For Landfall

Hurricane Debby Strengthens As Florida’s Gulf Coast Braces For Landfall

Following

Updated Aug 5, 2024, 06:32am EDT

Topline

Tropical Storm Debby became a Category 1 hurricane late on Sunday and continued to gain strength over the Gulf of Mexico, as Florida’s northeastern coast braced for an early Monday landfall, along with potential heavy downpours and severe flooding.

Key Facts

The National Hurricane Center said Debby’s maximum sustained wind speeds had strengthened Sunday to 75 mph with higher gusts.

Debby will likely gain additional strength before it reaches Florida’s Gulf Coast on Monday morning, the NHC said.

A hurricane warning is now in effect from Yankeetown to Indian Pass, covering most of the Big Bend region of the Florida Gulf Coast.

Tropical storm warnings and storm surge watches are also in effect, covering parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Some areas of the Gulf Coast may see storm surges between six to 10 feet, with the advisory warning “this is a life-threatening situation.”

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What To Watch For

Debby’s center will move through the Gulf of Mexico overnight before making landfall in Florida on Monday morning. The storm is expected to “move slowly across northern Florida and southern Georgia Monday and Tuesday,” before reaching the Georgia coast on Tuesday night. The storm is expected to weaken on Monday and Tuesday as it moves inland.

Tangent

Debby is also expected to bring severe rainfall over parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina this week. Portions of central and northern Florida could see between 6 to 12 inches of rain through Friday morning, likely resulting in some flash flooding. Parts of southeast Georgia and South Carolina, however, will witness a more severe downpour, between 10 to 20 inches, through Friday morning, which could cause “catastrophic flooding,” according to the NHC.

Big Number

85,479. That’s how many homes and businesses in Florida were without power early on Monday, due to Sunday’s rough weather conditions ahead of Debby’s landfall.

Further Reading

Tropical Storm Debby now expected to slam Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 1 hurricane (Miami Herald)

Debby becomes hurricane, expected to barrel into Florida’s northwest coast Monday; threat of storm surge looms large (Sun Sentinel)

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TikTok’s Chinese parent to sell the social media platform,  Elon Musk’s handling of policy issues at X and the  2024 General Elections in India. Prior to joining Forbes, Siladitya worked as a reporter with the Hindustan Times and Medianama covering tech policy and consumer tech in India. He graduated from Columbia University with an MA in Business and Economics Journalism in 2019. Follow Ray for continued coverage on TikTok in the U.S., Elon Musk and X and other key developments at big tech companies. Tips: siladitya@protonmail.com. Forbes reporters follow company ethical guidelines that ensure the highest quality.

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