Hannah Healey, the owner of the Prickly Palm, cleans debris out of her cafe after Hurricane Debby passed through in Cedar Key, Fla., on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Tropical Storm Debby pushed into southern Georgia Monday afternoon, slowing down after making landfall on Florida’s Big Bend coast and killing at least one person. (Nicole Craine/The New York Times)
Tropical Storm Debby will continue to pose a major flooding threat for the southeastern United States in the coming days after lashing Florida’s northwest coast, contributing to at least four deaths in the state.
Debby came ashore at 7 a.m. Monday as a Category 1 hurricane with 80 mph winds, just north of the tiny coastal town of Steinhatchee, in a sparsely populated section of the Big Bend region. It moved slowly across northern Florida into southeastern Georgia and is forecast to move off the coast of South Caroline by late Tuesday and Wednesday, then approach the state’s coast on Thursday.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned that just because the storm is moving into Georgia, it doesn’t mean the state won’t continue to see threats as waterways north of the border fill up and flow south.
“It is a very saturating, wet storm,” he said during an afternoon briefing at the state’s emergency operations center. “When they crest and the water that’s going to come down from Georgia, it’s just something that we’re going to be on alert for not just throughout today, but for the next week.”
About 500 people were rescued from flooded homes in Sarasota, the Sarasota Police Department said Monday in a social media post.
“Essentially we’ve had twice the amount of the rain that was predicted for us to have,” Sarasota County Fire Chief David Rathbun said in a social media update.
Officials in Manatee County said in a news release that 186 people were rescued from flood waters.
The Levy County Sheriff’s Department in Florida reported that a 13-year-old boy was killed in a storm-related incident Monday morning when a large tree fell on a mobile home in Fanning Springs, about 40 miles east of where the storm made landfall.
A truck driver, a 64-year-old man, died on Interstate 75 in the Tampa area after he lost control of his tractor trailer, which flipped over a concrete wall and dangled over water before the cab dropped into the water below. In Dixie County, a 38-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy died in a car crash on wet roads Sunday night. The Florida Highway Patrol said a 14-year-old boy who was a passenger was hospitalized with serious injuries.
A fifth Debby-related death was reported in south Georgia, where a 19-year-old man was killed when a tree fell onto a porch.
Images posted on social media by Cedar Key Fire Rescue early Monday showed floodwaters rising along the streets of the city, south of where the storm made landfall. Water was “coming in at a pretty heavy pace,” the post said. Nearly 200,000 customers remained without power in Florida and Georgia on Monday night, down from a peak of more than 350,000, according to PowerOutage.us and Georgia Electric Membership Corp.
Between Saturday morning and Monday morning, South Florida recorded maximum wind speeds ranging from 20 mph up to 53 mph associated with Debby, according to the National Weather Service Miami’s preliminary data. Rainfall totals ranged from just over an inch to as much as about 4 inches in South Florida.
Flooding is seen near homes as The Don CeSar looms in the background Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024 in St. Pete Beach, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Flood water blocks a section of Dodecanese Blvd at the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks, Monday morning, Aug 5, 2024, in Tarpon Springs, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
A person stands in the rain and wind as he looks out at the waves kicked up by Tropical Storm Debby, which is strengthening as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 04, 2024 in Cedar Key, Florida. Forecasters say Tropical Storm Debby could become a hurricane as soon as Sunday evening, bringing rain storms and high winds along Florida’s west coast. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Billy Wein helps place plywood over the windows of a business in preparation for the possible arrival of Tropical Storm Debby, which is strengthening as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 04, 2024 in Cedar Key, Florida. Forecasters say Tropical Storm Debby could become a hurricane as soon as Sunday evening, bringing rain storms and high winds along Florida’s west coast. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Jessie Walker fills containers with fuel as he prepares for the possible arrival of Hurricane Debby on Aug. 04, 2024 in Lee, Florida. He said, 'I'm not worried; I just want to be prepared.' Forecasters say Tropical Storm Debby could become a hurricane as soon as Sunday evening, bringing rain storms and high winds along Florida’s west coast. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A BMW sedan is stalled in high water along southbound US Alt 19 in Tarpon Springs, Fla., Monday morning, Aug 5, 2024, as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Shon Whitwood (C) and Leah Whitwood (R) stand in the wind and rain before the possible arrival of Tropical Storm Debby, which is strengthening as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 04, 2024 in Cedar Key, Florida. Forecasters say Tropical Storm Debby could become a hurricane as soon as Sunday evening, bringing rain storms and high winds along Florida’s west coast. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A bench is submerged in water near the R.E. Olds Park, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, in Oldsmar Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Jefferee Woo//Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Water almost reaches houses along Shore Drive East near R.E. Olds Park, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, in Oldsmar Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Jefferee Woo//Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Fred McCain (L) and Jeff Turek cut plywood to place over the windows of a business as they prepare for the possible arrival of Tropical Storm Debby, which is strengthening as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 04, 2024 in Cedar Key, Florida. Forecasters say Tropical Storm Debby could become a hurricane as soon as Sunday evening, bringing rain storms and high winds along Florida’s west coast. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A wave crashes ashore as the region prepares for the possible arrival of Tropical Storm Debby, which is strengthening as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 04, 2024 in Cedar Key, Florida. Forecasters say Tropical Storm Debby could become a hurricane as soon as Sunday evening, bringing rain storms and high winds along Florida’s west coast. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 8:16 a.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Debby, lower left, a Category 1 storm over northern Florida, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (NOAA via AP)
A vehicle is disabled in the flood water along S. 22nd street, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024 in Tampa, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Luis Santana//Tampa Bay Times via AP)
A driver negotiates a flooded street in the Shore Acres area Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, St. Petersburg, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 8:11 a.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Debby, a Category 1 storm over northern Florida, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (NOAA via AP)
The City of Fort Lauderdale provided sandbags to residents Saturday as part of its hurricane season preparedness efforts. Staffed sandbag pickup was available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mills Pond Park. Additionally, sand for self-service was available daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Mills Pond Park and Floyd Hull Stadium for residents who brought their own sandbags and shovels. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
The City of Fort Lauderdale provided sandbags to residents Saturday as part of its hurricane season preparedness efforts. Staffed sandbag pickup was available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mills Pond Park. Additionally, sand for self-service was available daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Mills Pond Park and Floyd Hull Stadium for residents who brought their own sandbags and shovels. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
The City of Fort Lauderdale provided sandbags to residents Saturday as part of its hurricane season preparedness efforts. Staffed sandbag pickup was available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mills Pond Park. Additionally, sand for self-service was available daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Mills Pond Park and Floyd Hull Stadium for residents who brought their own sandbags and shovels. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
The City of Fort Lauderdale provided sandbags to residents Saturday as part of its hurricane season preparedness efforts. Staffed sandbag pickup was available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mills Pond Park. Additionally, sand for self-service was available daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Mills Pond Park and Floyd Hull Stadium for residents who brought their own sandbags and shovels. Mary Lowe, foreground, and Steve Bryant fill sandbags at the giveaway. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
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Flooding is seen near homes as The Don CeSar looms in the background Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024 in St. Pete Beach, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
As of 8 p.m. Monday, Debby was located about 50 miles east of Valdosta, Georgia. The storm was moving northeast at 6 mph with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles from the center.
Tropical Storm Debby’s forecast cone as of 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (National Hurricane Center/Courtesy)
Facing ‘record-breaking’ rainfall
Debby’s slow movement is expected to cause “extremely large amounts” of rain over the southeastern states, NHC forecasters said.
Flash and urban flooding across portions of northern Florida could last through Friday morning and “historic rainfall” could flood parts of Georgia to North Carolina through the middle of the week, forecasters said.
The National Weather Service is forecasting 12 to 16 inches of rain in areas east of Tallahassee, 16 to 20 inches around Savannah, Georgia, and 20 to 30 inches south of Charleston, South Carolina.
“This potentially historic rainfall will likely result in areas of catastrophic flooding,” the hurricane center said Monday night.
The National Hurricane Center is forecasting 4 to 6 feet of storm surge along the Georgia and South Carolina coast as well, making for a potent flooding mix.
This map depicts forecasts for rainfall totals along Tropical Storm Debby’s path. (Courtesy NHC)
If Debby stalls over the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina, the area could get record-setting rain of up to 30 inches beginning Tuesday.
“There’s some really amazing rainfall totals being forecast and amazing in a bad way,” Michael Brennan, director of the hurricane center, said at a briefing. “That would be record-breaking rainfall associated with a tropical cyclone for both the states of Georgia and South Carolina if we got up to the 30-inch level.”
Officials in Savannah said the area could see a month’s worth of rain in four days if the system stalls over the region.
It’s going to be “a significant storm. The word historic cannot be underscored here,” Savannah Mayor Van. R. Johnson said during a news conference.
Meanwhile, forecasters are also watching a disorganized tropical wave located north of Suriname and a few hundred miles to the east of the Windward Islands in the Atlantic that is headed toward the central and western Caribbean later this week. The environment in the western Caribbean Sea or the southern Gulf of Mexico where it could move later this week is more favorable for it to develop, the hurricane center said.
As of Tuesday, it was given a 10% chance of formation in the next 48 hours and 30% within the next seven days.
The National Hurricane Center is tracking Tropical Storm Debby and monitoring a tropical wave over the eastern Caribbean Sea that could develop in the next week as of 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (National Hurricane Center)
The next storm to form would be named Ernesto. Hurricane Beryl, the earliest recorded Category 5 ever in a hurricane season, killed dozens as it swept through the Caribbean, Mexico and Texas in late June and early July.
Earlier in July, Colorado State University experts updated their hurricane season forecast, calling for an even busier season than the already “extremely active” forecast they earlier predicted.
Staff writers Robin Webb and Victoria Ballard contributed to this report. Information from The Associated Press was used to supplement this news article.