• durgesh dubey
• 05 Aug, 2024

Debby

Tropical Storm Debby rapidly gained strength on Sunday as it surged through the Gulf of Mexico, heading toward Florida's Big Bend coast. Meteorologists predicted it would make landfall as a hurricane on Monday morning.

Debby became the fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season on Saturday. The National Hurricane Center warned that it would likely bring heavy rain and coastal flooding to much of Florida's Gulf Coast starting Sunday night.

By 8 p.m. EDT on Sunday, the storm was about 100 miles west of Tampa and 90 miles southwest of Cedar Key, tracking north-northwest at 12 miles per hour with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, up from 50 mph reported earlier in the morning. Winds would need to reach at least 74 mph for Debby to be classified as a hurricane.

The forecast indicated that Debby would move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday night before reaching Florida's Big Bend early Monday. Earlier, a wind gust of 57 mph was recorded at Sand Key in the Florida Keys as tropical storm-force winds extended up to 140 miles from the storm's center.

Wind and thunderstorms spread over a wide area, including southern Florida, the Florida Keys, and the Bahamas on Sunday. By midday, flights were grounded at Orlando International Airport due to the storm.

Debby began as a depression that developed into a tropical storm over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Saturday. Late that night, it churned through the eastern Gulf of Mexico with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.

Debby is expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane Sunday night before making landfall in the Big Bend region early Monday, bringing strong winds, significant flooding, and power outages.

“Make sure you’re executing your plan now,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned at a news conference on Sunday afternoon. “As the storm comes, you may get hit with an awful lot of water.”

DeSantis compared Debby’s path to that of Hurricane Idalia, a Category 4 hurricane in 2023 that caused significant damage in north Florida. Although Debby’s winds won’t be as strong as Idalia’s, it will bring much more moisture.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Sunday that President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, authorizing FEMA to coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide necessary equipment and resources.

What started as a front moved north past Cuba and became Tropical Storm Debby on Saturday. It developed from a potential tropical cyclone to a tropical depression, drawing strength from warm, tropical waters.

By Sunday night, the storm’s center was about 100 miles west of Tampa, with maximum sustained winds at 70 mph. It was moving north at about 12 mph as of 8 p.m. ET.

Debby is expected to strengthen rapidly before landfall in the Big Bend region, posing a “danger of life-threatening storm surge inundation along portions of the Gulf coast of Florida from Aripeka to Indian Pass.