August 5 :
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned of life-threatening storm surges when Debby became a hurricane late Aug. 4 and headed for the Big Bend region of Florida's Gulf Coast by midday Aug. 5. As of 11 p.m. ET (0300 GMT) on Aug. 4, sustained winds were 75 mph (120 km/h) and predicted to intensify overnight.
Life-threatening storm surges up to 10 feet (3 meters) were predicted by the hurricane center. It warned that the storm could bring "potentially historic rainfall" of 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 cm) and severe floods to Georgia and South Carolina as it pushed north this week. Aug. 9 morning might bring 30 inches of rain.
"This is going to be the story of this storm," claimed hurricane center deputy director Jamie Rhome. Over 20 inches of rain may fall due to its slow speed. Flooding is disastrous." Hurricane Harvey, which hit Corpus Christi, Texas, in August 2017, is similar. After becoming a tropical storm inland, it dumped 50 inches of rain on Houston.
Harvey is one of the wettest storms in U.S. history, causing over 100 deaths and $125 billion in damage, mostly in Houston. Rhome said warm Gulf waters fueled Debby.
Global warming from using fossil fuels has elevated ocean temperatures, making storms bigger and more destructive, say climate experts.
As part of Debby preparations, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis authorized 3,000 National Guard troops and emergency orders for most towns and counties, as well as mandatory evacuations in Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Levy, and Wakulla. More than 17,000 linemen and other utility workers were ready to restore electricity, DeSantis said.
The governors of Georgia and South Carolina proclaimed emergencies before the storm. Late Aug. 3 saw Debby become a tropical storm. The storm was 100 miles west of Tampa and moving toward the Gulf Coast at 12 mph (19 km/h) with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) at 11 p.m. ET, the NHC reported.
The hurricane center predicted Debby's eye will cross the eastern Gulf of Mexico and approach the Florida Big Bend coast by midday on Aug. 5. On Aug. 5 and 6, Debby would slowly pass northern Florida and southern Georgia, it warned. After impact, the storm will weaken but carry heavy rain as it crosses central Florida to the Atlantic coast. It will then crawl up to Savannah, Georgia, and then Charleston, South Carolina, this week, pouring catastrophic quantities of rain.
Storm surges expected from Bonita Beach to Tampa Bay might damage property and injure people. Hurricane Idalia, which briefly reached Category 4 power before making landfall as a Category 3 in August 2023 with winds of 125 mph, was the last to hit Big Bend. A $3.5 billion damage estimate from the National Centers for Environmental Information.
Four to seven significant Atlantic hurricanes are expected in the 2024 season, which began on June 1. That beat the 2005 season that produced Katrina and Rita. Beryl is the only Atlantic hurricane this year. The earliest Category 5 storm on record hit the Caribbean and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula before battering Texas' Gulf Coast as a Category 1 storm with 95 mph gusts.
