Tropical Storm Debby has grown into a Category 1 hurricane, with a landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast expected on Monday, according to US forecasts late Sunday.
The storm’s maximum winds had risen to 75 mph by 11 p.m. ET, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The hurricane was 65 miles west of Cedar Key, Florida, and 100 miles west of Tampa, moving north at 12 mph, according to the center.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a state of emergency in 61 counties that are predicted to be hit by the hurricane. According to a statement from his office, 3,000 National Guard personnel have been mobilized to assist with storm response, sandbags are being distributed, and Florida’s emergency operations center has been activated.
Debby is predicted to develop before reaching the Big Bend coast on Monday, then weaken as it moves inland over northern Florida and southern Georgia, according to the hurricane center.
The hurricane is expected to cause a storm surge of 2 to 10 feet in certain locations and heavy rain into Friday morning.
Rainfall across central and northern Florida, as well as southeastern North Carolina, could range from 6 to 12 inches, with up to 18 inches probable. The hurricane center also predicted that regions of southeast Georgia and South Carolina would receive 10 to 20 inches of rain, with much to 30 inches in isolated locations.
Tropical storm conditions are predicted to persist throughout areas of Florida’s Gulf Coast until Sunday night, as well as hurricane conditions along the coast from the Suwannee River to Yankeetown.
Officials in and around the coastal Carolinas were bracing for the storm to bring extraordinary rain to sections of the region, with Charleston, South Carolina officials predicting up to 30 inches beginning Monday.
As the storm neared, at least a half-dozen Florida counties had issued or planned to issue evacuation orders for Monday.
Storm surges and torrential rains produced flooding in Pinellas County, Florida, prompting high-water rescues, according to the county’s emergency management organization.
According to a statement, Florida Highway Patrol troopers closed the Skyway Bridge in St. Petersberg late Sunday night due to severe winds. The University of South Florida in St. Petersburg and the University of Florida in Gainesville, both in the state’s northern half, have announced that they will be closed on Monday.
The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office in the state’s Big Bend region released a statement encouraging residents to “use extreme caution” if they needed to traverse the area’s roadways when up to 15 inches of rain were forecast in a short period.
DeSantis compared Debby’s path to that of Hurricane Idalia, a Category 4 storm that wreaked widespread damage in north Florida last year.
Debby’s winds may not be as powerful as Idalia’s, but it will deliver far more moisture, DeSantis predicted Sunday afternoon.
At least three people died as a result of the 2023 storm, which left hundreds of thousands of customers without electricity, forced residents to swim out their windows as water rushed in, and left communities searching for debris.