ATLANTA — Tropical Storm Debby continues to strength as it moves up the Gulf Coast of Florida, eventually making its way into Georgia in the next couple of days.
The storm could cause historic flooding, according to Severe Weather Team 2 Chief Meteorologist Brad Nitz.
Gov. Brian Kemp has already declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm.
As of Sunday morning, Debby was about 155 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, and about 205 miles south-southwest of Cedar Key, Florida.
Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Eboni Deon said Debby is producing winds of about 65 mph and is expected to made landfall in Florida’s big bend around Tallahassee around Monday morning.
Deon said the storm will then move into South Georgia on Monday and Tuesday.
“Some of these areas could see 10-20 inches of rainfall, locally higher amounts are possible,” Deon said.
As for North Georgia, we will be on the back side of the storm.
“Across much of north Georgia, our rain chances are going to stay on the lower side,” Deon said.
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There are currently watches and warnings all the way up the Florida coast and into South Georgia.
“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,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a Sunday morning briefing.
Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season after Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris, all of which formed in June.
Tropical storms and hurricanes can trigger river flooding and overwhelm drainage systems and canals.
The White House said federal and state officials were in touch and FEMA “pre-positioned” resources including water and food.
For some, the name Debby summons bad memories of a 2012 tropical storm of the same name that caused $250 million in losses and eight deaths, including seven in the Sunshine State. That storm dumped torrential rains, including an astronomical 29 inches south of Tallahassee.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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