Storm forces at Category 1 hurricane

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Debby strengthened into a hurricane Sunday evening, approaching Florida’s Big Bend and potentially bringing the threat of a life-threatening storm surge and rainfall totals that could reach 12 inches in parts of the Southeast to the weekend. look less

Debby, which formed on Saturday and became the fourth named storm of the season, became a Category 1 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center announced late Sunday. The storm is located about 100 miles west-northwest of Tampa, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.

The hurricane, fueled by warm Gulf waters, was moving north at about 12 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said. Hurricane-force winds extended up to 45 miles from the center, and tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 140 miles from the center.

“This potentially historic rainfall may lead to areas of catastrophic flooding,” Richard Pasch, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center, wrote in a public advisory warning of a “life-threatening situation.”

Floridians were bracing for the state’s first hurricane of the year in a season that forecasters say could become one of the worst on record. Mandatory evacuations were ordered ahead of Debby in parts of several counties. Leon County, where Tallahassee is located, was opening six shelters in schools around the county.

The lack of strong directional currents in the atmosphere means Debby will take a slow ride after a landfall in Florida through the southeast, making it a threat to several states. “After landfall, it will slow to a crawl,” Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said Sunday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that the Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard have been activated to support humanitarian assistance and search and rescue missions. He warned that hazards such as strong winds, thunderstorms and tornadoes could occur before landfall, even outside the intended “cone.” Sustained winds could reach 95 mph, he said

President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency throughout Florida, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts “for the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency to the local population.”

Developments:

∎ The National Weather Service has issued a series of flash flood warnings. Warnings are in effect for Manatee and Western Sarasota counties until 11:30 p.m.; Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas have warnings until 11:15 p.m

∎ NWS officials issued a tornado watch for much of northern Florida and southeastern Georgia Sunday evening. The watch covers an area of nearly 12 million people and is in effect until 6 a.m. Monday. The Storm Prediction Center issued reports of six tornadoes in Florida around 11:00 p.m. Sunday.

∎ Nearly 2,000 flights were canceled and nearly 6,300 were delayed as of 5 p.m. ET, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. American Airlines and JetBlue saw the highest numbers of cancellations among major carriers, both cutting 17 percent of their schedules.

Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Elation has rescheduled its return to Jacksonville for Sunday instead of Monday as planned. The ship departed the Florida city on Thursday for a cruise to the Bahamas, according to CruiseMapper.

∎ South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency Sunday afternoon ahead of any potential impact from Debby. He warned that heavy rains earlier in the week could bring food flash and that residents should begin storm preparations immediately.

∎ The number of reported power outages across Florida climbed to more than 75,000 by 11 p.m. Sunday, according to USA TODAY’s outage tracker. More than 15 percent of customers in Levy County reported outages.

“Effects will be from water”: Debby shows that there is more to a storm than the wind scale

The hurricane center is forecasting landfall Monday morning in Florida’s Big Bend — where the state’s panhandle meets its peninsula — somewhere between the Suwannee River south of Tallahassee and the Ochlockonee River in the Panhandle west of Tallahassee. Debby will make landfall with maximum sustained winds of 74 to 95 miles per hour, according to AccuWeather Senior Director of Forecast Operations Dan DePodwin.

Forecasters have issued a hurricane warning for the Florida Gulf Coast from Yankeetown to Indian Pass. They have issued a tropical storm warning for the area south of Yankeetown to Boca Grande, west of Indian Pass to Mexico Beach; and Ponte Vedra Beach to the South Santee River, South Carolina.

The area between the Suwanee and Ochlockonee rivers could flood with up to 10 feet of water, the hurricane center reported. Accuweather forecast even higher rises for the Big Bend region, up to 15 feet.

Officials in Southwest Florida began reporting road closures due to flooding Sunday afternoon ahead of Debby’s expected landfall on Monday.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno deployed the agency’s “swamp buggy,” a 5,000-pound vehicle that can move through water up to four feet deep to pick up people stranded by the storm, according to the public information officer Todd Olmer.

Marceno said roads in Fort Myers Beach were flooded.

Sarasota County officials warned that several roads in the area were closed due to flooding. North Casey Key Road was closed, leaving residents unable to enter or exit the key; storm erosion undermined roads leading to Caspersen Beach near the city of Venice; and rocks used to stabilize the shoreline were washed down Manasota Key Road by flooding that left the area under water.

Sandra Tapfumaneyi, head of the county’s Emergency Management Agency, urged residents to stay home, call 311 for help and, if on the road, “turn around, don’t drown.”

Areas from Sarasota north through Tampa and Tarpon Springs have already seen an impressive 4 to 8 inches of rainfall, the Weather Forecast Center reported. Forecasters expect the rain rate to increase to 2 to 3 inches per hour and add another 6 inches of rain to the total, according to the WPC.

Winds around Tampa Bay became so strong that at 10 p.m., the Florida Highway Patrol announced it was closing the Skyway Bridge.

Debby is large and slow, making the storm particularly dangerous, especially along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. The size and increase in wind speed as Debby organizes and potentially becomes a hurricane creates a high risk of life-threatening storm surge along the Florida coast Monday morning. The surge will be highest where the storm crosses the coast.

The Hurricane Center forecasts that Debby could rapidly intensify, bringing winds to 90 mph at landfall. This could help push a wall of water 6-10 feet above ground level. The upper level would occur if the storm approaches at high tide.

Pre-storm clouds were already reaching much of Florida by Sunday, and the center of the storm is forecast to move near Savannah Tuesday night and stretch along the South Carolina Coast Thursday night.

“Several days of very, very heavy rain are possible,” Brennan said.

The National Weather Service predicts rainfall totals could reach 30 inches or more in isolated locations along the coast by Friday. The weather service office in Charleston, South Carolina called it “potentially historic rain.”

The storm came less than three months after a tornado ripped through Tallahassee that brought widespread destruction. Mayor John Dailey said mutual aid workers were arriving later in the day from Louisiana and Alabama to help restore power and that other crews were ready to respond from across Florida.

“Falled trees are expected,” Dailey said. “Power outages are expected. Localized flooding is expected. Please prepare your household, knowing that there may be a time when first responders cannot reach you.”

– Jeff Burlew, Democrat of Tallahassee

A hurricane warning has been issued for the Big Bend region, according to the National Weather Service. This warning extends west along the Gulf Coast to the Ochlockonee River. A storm warning has been issued from Longboat Key to Tampa Bay.

A few tornadoes are possible through Monday morning, mainly over western and northern Florida and southern Georgia, the hurricane center said.

The weather service’s Storm Prediction Center distributed reports of six tornadoes Sunday. Reports came in from Hardee, Polk, Pinellas, Union and Columbia counties. The tornado reported in Pinellas damaged a fence and trailer around 10 p.m

Waves from Debby are expected to affect much of Florida’s Gulf Coast by Monday, reach the southeastern US coast on Monday and continue through midweek.

“These conditions are likely to cause life-threatening surf and current conditions,” Pasch warned.

A Stormy Season: Forecasters raise hurricane season forecast after record-breaking Beryl

Debby formed in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico after moving west as a tropical storm during the week. The storm dumped heavy rains on Hispaniola and parts of the Bahamas and caused flooding in Puerto Rico.

Illustrations include a range of forecasting tools and models, and not all are created equal. The Hurricane Center uses only the top four or five best performing models to help make forecasts.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.

The peak of the season is Sept. 10, and the most activity typically occurs between mid-August and mid-October, according to the hurricane center.

Contributing: USA TODAY’s Nathan Diller, Gabe Hauari, Doyle Rice, Anthony Robledo and Jeanine Santucci; Kim Luciani and Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY Network-Florida.

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Storm forces at Category 1 hurricane

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