Hurricane Debby To Bring 'Life-Threatening' Flooding, Landfall Monday

Updated at 11:15 p.m. Sunday

FLORIDA — Authorities urged Floridians to prepare for widespread power outages and flooding Sunday as Hurricane Debby headed toward the Big Bend region, where it is forecast to make landfall midday Monday. Street flooding is already an issue in parts of St. Pete and Tarpon Springs, authorities said.

The storm increased to category 1 hurricane strength about 11 p.m. Sunday, with 75 mph winds, the National Hurricane Center said.

About 11 p.m. Sunday, there were 75,614 Florida utility customers statewide without power, with more than 41,000 customers in Pinellas County offline, according to PowerOutage.US.

"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.

New warnings and watches were issued for Tampa Bay and other parts of the state's west coast:

• A Storm Surge Warning and Tropical Storm Warning are in effect for Coastal Citrus, Coastal Hernando, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee, Coastal Pasco, and Pinellas counties
• A Tropical Storm Warning and Storm Surge Watch are in effect for Coastal Charlotte, Coastal Lee, and Coastal Sarasota counties
• A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Inland Citrus, Inland Hernando, Inland Hillsborough, Inland Manatee, Inland Pasco, Inland Sarasota, and Sumter counties
• A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for DeSoto, Hardee, Inland Charlotte, Inland Lee, and Polk counties.

Debby is expected to produce rainfall totals of 6 to 18 inches over northern Florida through Friday morning. Flash, urban and river flooding are all possible, according to the National Weather Service.

"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. That is going to happen. There is also going to be power outages," the governor said.

Related:

• City Streets Flood Due To Tropical Storm Debby: St. Petersburg Police
• City Streets Flood Due To Tropical Storm Debby: Bradenton Officials
• Sponge Docks Closed Due To Flooding: Tarpon Springs Police

Paul Dellegatto of FOX 13 and Matt Devitt of WINK posted photos on social media midday Sunday of significant flooding at Fort Myers Beach.

As of 11 p.m. Sunday, Debby was 100 miles west of Tampa and maximum sustained winds had reached 75 mph, with rapid strengthening in the forecast followed by weakening Monday and Tuesday.

The storm center will reach the Florida Big Bend coast midday Monday, the National Hurricane Center said. Debby is then expected to move slowly across northern Florida and
southern Georgia on Monday and Tuesday.

"It's possible many areas across the Big Bend could be without power for multiple days to a week (in the hardest hit locations)," the National Weather Service said in a post on its Tallahassee X account.

DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 61 of Florida's 67 counties, with the National Guard activating 3,000 guard members.

The governor 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.

Mandatory evacuation orders were in place for Alachua, Citrus, Levy, Dixie, Franklin, Taylor and Wakulla counties as of Sunday evening. Voluntary orders had been issued for Clay, Gadsden, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Madison, Pasco and Union counties.

A storm surge warning was in effect for the coast from the middle of Longboat Key northward to Indian Pass including Tampa Bay.

“This is a life-threatening situation,” the National Weather Service said in an advisory Sunday morning. “Persons located within these areas should take all necessary actions to protect life and property from rising water and the potential for other dangerous conditions.”

There was a hurricane warning for the coast from the Suwannee River to Indian Pass. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Ponte Vedre Beach to the Savannah River and the coast south of the Suwannee River to Bonita Beach and west of Indian Pass to Mexico Beach.

Much of the state, including Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville, was under a tornado watch until 6 a.m. Monday.

The White House said federal and Florida officials were in touch and FEMA "pre-positioned" resources including water and food. In Tampa alone, officials gave out more than 30,000 sandbags to barricade against flooding.

Florida State University in Tallahassee will be closed Monday due to the storm, the school announced.

Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season — following Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris, all of which formed in June.

The National Hurricane Center defines the type of weather disturbance by the strength of its wind speed.

A tropical depression is a storm with a wind speed of 38 mph. A tropical storm has wind speeds of 39 to 73 mph. A hurricane is a storm with sustained wind speed of at least 74 miles per hour.

2024 Hurricane Season Forecast

An “extraordinary” 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and runs through Nov. 30, is expected this year, Dr. Rick Spinrad, director of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, said in late May.

There’s an 85 percent chance of an above-normal hurricane season this year, a 10 percent chance of a near-normal season and a 5 percent chance of a below-normal season, he said.

The agency predicts 15 to 25 named storms this season — the highest number NOAA has ever forecast, Spinrad added.

Of these storms, eight to 13 of them could reach hurricane status with maximum sustained winds of at least 74 mph, while four to seven are forecast to become major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph.

This historic forecast is largely driven by a La Niña weather pattern, which suppresses wind shear, and historically warm ocean waters.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.