August 5, 2024 - Tropical Storm Debby updates

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00:35 - Source: cnn

New video shows Debby’s storm surge surrounding the Faraway Inn in Cedar Key, Florida, which had just opened up following damage from Hurricane Idalia nearly a year ago.

Hurricane Debby brought more than 6 feet of storm surge to Cedar Key, which is around 40 miles southeast of where the storm made landfall on Monday morning.

The inn’s owner Aimee Firestine lives in Chiefland, Florida, and told CNN the video was taken around 7:30 am Monday morning using the inn’s surveillance camera. 

“We are home just trying to prepare for what we will see when we are able to return,” Firestine said.

“Definitely heart breaking knowing we just opened up that building this past Memorial Day from Idalia damage. The cottage on the right is still under repairs from Idalia.”

Video in this post is courtesy of the Faraway Inn/Facebook

Miami Search and Rescue Fire Department personnel search for people in flooded houses as Debby affects the gulf coast in Suwannee, Florida, on August 5.

Urban search and rescue crews are going door-to-door Monday in two hard-hit coastal Florida communities to examine the impact of Debby after it made landfall nearby as a hurricane. 

“A heavy presence of National Guard and FL Urban Search and Rescue from Task Force 1 and 2, is in the County and entering the coastal communities of Suwannee and Horseshoe Beach,” Dixie County Fire Rescue announced on Facebook.

Debby, which has since weakened to a tropical storm, made landfall near Steinhatchee, Florida, about 35 miles away from Horseshoe Beach.

Dixie County Fire Rescue said about 78% of the county is without power.

Officials around Savannah, Georgia, are warning people to prepare for a level of flooding the city has never seen before as Tropical Storm Debby slowly makes its way to Georgia.

Forecasts call for the possibility of 20 inches of rain in a two to three-day period. Officials in Chatham County — which includes Savannah — say residents are used to flooding during heavy rain, but this is likely to be worse than what they’ve ever seen.

“This type of rain hovering over us, coming with the intensity that they tell us that it’s coming — it’s going to catch a whole lot of people by surprise,” Chatham County Chairman Chester Ellis said.

One sign residents are taking the warnings seriously is that multiple sandbag stations ran out of supplies Sunday night, according to county officials, who say they are working to get them all restocked today.

A countywide 10 p.m. ET curfew goes into effect Monday night, with Ellis saying “blinding rain” will make it dangerous for anyone who tries to travel when the storm arrives.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson asked businesses to empty their offices early, if possible. “If you just can, we’re asking that you show your employees some grace by allowing them to leave and get home in a safe manner,” he said.

CNN Meteorologist Brandon Miller contributed to this report.

Some major Georgia ports are planning to close this week ahead of the severe weather brought by Tropical Storm Debby, according to Georgia Ports Authority.

The Port of Savannah will close it’s terminal at 3 p.m. ET today and won’t reopen until Wednesday, with a delayed start. The Port of Brunswick is not receiving inbound vessels until the storm passes and the Coast Guard gives the all clear. 

Colonels Island and Mayor’s Point Terminal gates will close today at noon and reopen Wednesday, if weather permits.

A Florida National Guard vehicle drives through a flooded street from the rain and storm surge caused by Debby on August 5 in Cedar Key, Florida.

Tropical Storm Debby is moving over northern Florida at 70 miles per hour. However, before it weakened, high winds from the hurricane blew a tree onto the mobile home of a teenager, killing the 13-year old, according to Lt. Scott Tummond of the Levy County Sheriff’s Office. 

Here’s what else to know:

Landfall: The hurricane made landfall Monday morning near Steinhatchee in Florida’s Big Bend area, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Speed: Debby’s forward speed is expected to slow so dramatically that an average person could walk faster than it. It is forecast to only travel a distance of less than 200 miles — from southeastern Georgia to the South Carolina coast — in about 60 hours from Tuesday morning to Thursday afternoon. That means the storm’s average pace would be around 3 mph for 2.5 days, which is slower than an average adult can walk, research has found. This slow movement is the reason for the dire rainfall and flooding forecasts for the region.

Flight disruptions: Severe weather from Debby forced the Federal Aviation Administration to delay flights on the ground in Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers — and the FAA says the delays are likely to get worse.

Rainfall: Debby has already unloaded massive amounts of rain over Florida and there’s much more still to come. The Sarasota-Bradenton area averages more than 9 inches in August, but well exceeded that from the storm. Here are the top rainfall reports in the state so far, measured from Saturday morning to Monday morning: 

Debby swirls over Florida late Monday morning.

Debby’s dangerous impacts are far from over and one of the reasons why can be clearly seen from satellite imagery this morning: It is a wide-reaching storm. 

The storm’s center is approaching the Florida-Georgia border, but rain from the storm is already drenching large portions of Georgia and South Carolina. 

A strong area of high pressure out over the Atlantic is helping to pull some of Debby’s moisture even farther north too, as seen by the very cloudy conditions from North Carolina to the top right corner of the imagery. 

The weather is largely dry elsewhere in the imagery above, but some lingering wildfire smoke can be seen over parts of the Tennessee and Mississippi valleys. The smoke appears as a very thin light grey tint slightly obscuring the typical green of the surface below.

The city of Charleston in South Carolina is set to receive “unprecedented” amounts of rainfall causing severe flooding Monday, as a result of Tropical Storm Debby, according to the mayor.

Cogswell urged residents to gather supplies now, in advance of the storm, and then stay inside.

“This is going to be an unprecedented amount of rainfall that will result in pretty severe flooding and areas that don’t normally flood,” he said.

Cogswell said he is coordinating with federal and state partners to prepare and has enacted an emergency protocol that will allow him to close down parts of the city, if needed.

Debby’s forward speed is expected slow so dramatically that an average person could walk faster than it.

Debby is forecast to only travel a distance of less than 200 miles – from southeastern Georgia to the South Carolina coast – in about 60 hours from Tuesday morning to Thursday afternoon.

That means the storm’s average pace would be around 3 mph for 2.5 days, which is slower than an average adult can walk, research has found.

This slow movement is the reason for the dire rainfall and flooding forecasts for the region.

Taylor County firefighters remove a fallen tree from a road as Debby passes through the area in Keaton Beach, Florida, on August 5.

Debby pounded the Gulf Coast of Florida with widespread strong wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph Sunday through Monday morning. These gusts have been strong enough to bring down trees, which have killed at least one person.

Here’s where the system’s strongest winds have occurred in the state: 

Severe weather from Hurricane Debby has forced the Federal Aviation Administration to delay flights on the ground in Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers — and the FAA says the delays are likely to get worse.

“Hurricane Debby is making its way northeast across Florida impacting all airports in its path,” the FAA said in a publicly available airspace operations plan.

Flight cancellations continue to climb nationwide, with flights leaving Orlando, Tampa, and Miami being hit the hardest. FlightAware says as of 11 a.m. EDT, airlines have canceled more than 1,500 US flights. American Airlines has canceled about one in 10 of its Monday flights while Southwest Airlines has canceled about one in 20.

A fallen tree is seen on a mobile home in Fanning Springs, Florida, where a 13-year-old boy was killed on Monday morning.

A teenager died Monday morning in Levy County, Florida, as high winds from Hurricane Debby blew a tree onto his home, according to Lt. Scott Tummond of the Levy County Sheriff’s Office. 

The 13-year-old boy was crushed inside a mobile home, Tummond said.

It is the first confirmed death due to the storm.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with this family as they deal with this tragedy,” Tummond said in a written statement. “We encourage everyone to use extreme caution as they begin to assess and clean up the damage. Downed powerlines and falling trees are among the many hazards. One life is too many.”

Storm chasers check the wind speed on Monday in Horseshoe Beach, Florida.

Debby has weakened from a hurricane to a strong, 70 mph tropical storm as it moves over northern Florida.

The storm will continue to weaken while it’s over land, but its most significant impact will not: potentially catastrophic flooding.

The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center said the storm had started to put on the brakes and its forward speed had slowed from 10 mph to 8 mph. It will eventually slow to walking speed.

This slow speed will allow the storm to drop potentially historic amounts of rain on Georgia and South Carolina in the coming days.

Hershey Stepherson, left, and Bryan Burc, right, fill a sandbag while preparing for Hurricane Debby on Monday in Savannah, Georgia.

The city of Savannah, Georgia, issued a curfew Monday as it prepares for potentially heavy flooding from Hurricane Debby.

“In anticipation of winds, intensive rain and flooding tonight, I will be issuing a curfew for the City of Savannah tonight starting Monday, August 5 at 10 pm until Tuesday, August 6 at 6 am,” Mayor Van Johnson announced on Facebook.

Debby made landfall in the Big Bend of Florida on Monday morning and is now crawling across northern Florida toward the Georgia coast. Savannah could see a month’s worth of rain in a single day, according to forecasts.

A person looks on at a flooded street caused by the rain and storm surge from Hurricane Debby on August 5 in Cedar Key, Florida.

Debby has already unloaded massive amounts of rain over Florida and there’s much more still to come.

The Sarasota/Bradenton area averages more than 9 inches in August, but well exceeded that from the storm.

Here are the top rainfall reports in the state so far, measured from Saturday morning to Monday morning: 

Totals in the Big Bend region are also climbing. Six to 8 inches of rain have fallen there since Sunday night.  

Torrential rain has triggered least 10 flash flood warnings in Florida since midnight and caused area waterways to swell. Parts of the Manatee River rose to major flood stage just south of Tampa.  

A few more waterways around the Tampa area will reach major flood stage early this week while some in the northern part of the state are forecast to reach at least moderate flood stage.  

Debby is far from the most powerful tropical system to slam the Southeast, but it may go down in history as one of the region’s most prolific rain-producers.  

Widespread rainfall totals of at least a foot will stretch from northern Florida to southeastern North Carolina through Friday night. But some areas – especially coastal South Carolina and Georgia – could pick up as much as 30 inches of rain in the same timeframe. 

Hurricane Florence in 2018 is the most prolific rainfall-producing storm in South Carolina history. It dropped 23.63 inches of rain.  

Charleston, South Carolina, could get over 2 feet of rain in just five days, more than the city typically records in an entire summer – from June to August. Charleston has never recorded more than 18 inches of rain in a 5-day period. Data for the city’s airport weather reporting station date back to 1937.  

A similar situation could develop in Savannah, Georgia, which could receive a summer’s worth of rain in less than a week. Savannah has never recorded more than 16.25 inches of rain in a 5-day period since 1945. Georgia’s most prolific rain-producing storm was 1994’s Alberto which unloaded 27.85 inches of rain.

Rainfall totals anywhere near the forecast’s upper end of 2.5 feet will not only shatter a statewide record and numerous daily records, but also cause life-threatening flash flooding.

Day after day of relentless heavy rain will overwhelm soil and cause area waterways to swell. For low-lying areas near the coast, floodwaters may struggle to drain away from land especially around midweek when Debby is forecast to stall just off the coast.

Debby’s winds could drive storm surge flooding while heavy rain floods areas inland.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has authorized the deployment of up to 2,000 Georgia National Guard troops to help the state’s response to Hurricane Debby.

Kemp issued the executive order Monday, after the Category 1 storm made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida. The troops will be used “in preparation, response, and recovery efforts,” the order said.

Debby is expected to cross into southern Georgia by mid-afternoon Monday and move slowly through the southeastern area of the state. It is forecast to slow down by Tuesday night and stall off the coast of South Carolina, bringing torrential rain to parts of Georgia and South Carolina. 

On Saturday, Kemp declared a state of emergency for Georgia as Debby approached.

Flooding is seen at Firefly Resort Cottages in Cedar Key, Florida, on Monday.

Ian Maki, who owns Firefly Resort Cottages in Cedar Key, Florida with his husband, said his business has been impacted by hurricanes since it opened in 2018. Today, the storm surge from Debby has already damaged three cottages.

Losing the cottages for several months in these scenario costs the couple tens of thousands of dollars. While repairing the damages to their cottages from Idalia, which struck last August, Maki said he was keeping an eye on Debby.

“We have been watching Debby since she was barely a bump in the Atlantic and, since we just went through this, we just stopped doing what we had been doing to repair damage from Idalia and started prepping for this one. So far, so good. We know these cottages will see water, they have already so many times,” he said.

A tornado watch is in effect for over 11 million people in central and northern Florida, and southeastern Georgia until 4 pm EDT as Hurricane Debby moves inland. Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville in Florida, and Savannah, Georgia, are included in the watch.

Tornadoes frequently occur with landfalling tropical storms and hurricanes. They tend to be associated with outer-rain bands and can spin up quickly and are often short-lived. This means they can occur with little-to-no warning, unlike with traditional tornadic storms in the central and southern US.

Last month, Beryl and its remnants produced more than 50 tornadoes from Texas to the Northeast for up to 3 days after landfall.

Power outages grew to more than 300,000 customers after Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida Monday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.

The outages are impacting the state’s Big Bend region, where the Category 1 storm made landfall near Steinhatchee, rolling thorough the same area hit by Hurricane Idalia 11 months ago.

With traffic lights out and roads slick or flooded, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis encouraged people in the affected areas to stay indoors.

The storm’s pace is expected to slow as it moves across Florida then into Georgia and South Carolina, with the cities of Savannah and Charleston preparing for the possibility of a month’s worth of rain in a single day.

The hurricane is causing headaches for air travelers, too. The Federal Aviation Administration reported storm-related flight delays of over an hour Monday morning in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.

Visitors look out of a hotel window as Hurricane Debby makes landfall in Perry, Florida, on Monday, August 5.

Hurricane Debby’s eye has moved inland, cutting it off from the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico, which will begin to weaken the storm.

Weakening of the sustained winds will continue through the morning, but heavy rain will remain a dangerous threat as the storm slows down over northern Florida and southern Georgia later today and tonight.

Any additional weakening will result in Debby once again being designated a tropical storm, which have sustained winds between 39 and 74 mph.

A satellite image taken at 8:16 a.m. ET on Monday shows Hurricane Debby over northern Florida.

Debby is still a Category 1 hurricane as it pushes inland over Florida’s Big Bend region but will quickly become a tropical storm as the system is cut off from the warm water fueling it.  

The reduction in wind speed won’t do much to limit Debby’s wrath, as torrential, flooding rainfall will spread over large portions of Florida and southern Georgia this morning and last for days.  

Debby will track generally to the north-northeast and its center is likely to cross into southern Georgia by mid-afternoon. The system will move slowly through southeastern Georgia until its center emerges over the Atlantic around mid-afternoon Tuesday.  

Debby could slow down to walking speed by Tuesday night and stall just off the coast of South Carolina through at least Thursday morning. Torrential rainfall could pound parts of Georgia and the Carolinas during this time – especially coastal South Carolina.  

Another landfall is possible sometime Thursday as Debby moves north over the South Carolina coast and then pushes into central North Carolina Friday. Debby will likely lose strength quickly once it moves back over land later this week and become a tropical depression.

All told, Debby could unload up to 30 inches of rain on parts of South Carolina through Friday night and more than a foot of rain from northern Florida to southeastern North Carolina.  

Here’s a look at Debby’s projected path:

Officials in Citrus County, Florida, are keeping an eye on Hurricane Debby’s storm surge as the community is still recovering from the flooding damage of Hurricane Idalia a year ago.

Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Steinhatchee, just 9 miles southeast of where Category 3 Idalia made landfall on August 30, 2023. 

Many residents in Citrus County, south of Steinhatchee on Florida’s Gulf Coast, are just finishing up renovations to repair the devastating flood damage from Idalia, Kinnard said.

The area is hoping for just 3 to 5 feet of storm surge from Debby, Kinnard added. “If that happens, we’re in pretty good shape. Anything over that, and unfortunately, we have a lot of homes with water in them.”

Once the storm settles down, officials will work to get the power turned back on and debris cleaning companies will move in to tackle the mess, Kinnard added.

“We’re prepared, the city’s prepared. And we’re just hoping for the best here.”

Flooding is seen in Steinhatchee, Florida, on Monday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Florida residents need to stay prepared as Hurricane Debby made landfall Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane.

The storm made landfall near Steinhatchee, very close to where Hurricane Idalia tore through Florida’s Big Bend region nearly a year ago. However, the governor said officials don’t expect the damage to be as substantial this time.   

“The maximum sustained winds for Debby have reached 80 miles an hour, with higher gusts throughout the storm area,” DeSantis said. “To contrast that with Idalia, Idalia reached close to 120 miles per hour in sustained winds.” 

With more than 200,000 power customers knocked out of service, according to the tracking site PowerOutage.us, DeSantis said restoring electric service will be a major priority.

“We do have 17,000 linemen that are ready to assist with restoring power immediately,” DeSantis said. 

With Debby expected to take a slow-moving track along northern Florida, state Emergency Management executive director Kevin Guthrie said people need to be prepared to deal with the hurricane’s effect for much of this week. 

“This is going to be an event that is going to be probably here for the next five to seven days – maybe as long as 10 days depending on how much rainfall we get,” Guthrie said. 

Hurricane Debby rapidly intensified ahead of its landfall in Florida, joining a growing list of recent storms to accomplish the feat, as the planet warms and stacks the deck in favor of strengthening storms.

Rapid intensification is exactly what it sounds like: A storm increasing in strength over a short period of time. But a storm can’t be considered a rapid intensifier unless its winds increase by 35 mph in 24 hours or less, a feat Debby accomplished early Monday before landfall.

The storm strengthened from a 45 mph tropical storm at 2 a.m. on Sunday to an 80 mph hurricane at 2 a.m. Monday.

Storms need a few basic ingredients to strengthen: warm water, warm, moist air, and favorable upper-level winds that won’t rip it apart.

Debby had one of those ingredients in abundance. The storm tracked through near-record warm water temperatures in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. This provided ample fuel for the storm to tap into and rapidly intensify, despite having to fight off some dry air and hostile upper-level winds.

Ocean temperatures in the North Atlantic have been record or near-record warm since last year. More than 90% of warming around the globe over the past 50 years has taken place in the oceans, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

This warming, caused by fossil fuel pollution, is making rapid intensification more likely, and more and more storms are doing it as they approach landfall, making them harder to prepare for. 

Hurricane Debby is already is impacting parts Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday morning.

Hurricane Debby just made landfall as an 80 mph Category 1 storm in Florida’s Big Bend region, a sight that’s all too familiar for residents there.

The landfall location near Steinhatchee, Florida, was just 9 miles southeast of where Category 3 Hurricane Idalia made landfall nearly a year ago at 7:45 a.m. on August 30.

A satellite image captured at 7 a.m. ET Monday shows Hurricane Debby as the storm made landfall.

Hurricane Debby has been bringing heavy rainfall, high wind gusts and storm surge along the west coast of Florida since Sunday night.

On Monday morning, it made landfall near Steinhatchee with winds of 80 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center at 7 a.m. EDT.  

The landfall is within 20 miles of Hurricane Idalia’s landfall, which also came ashore in the Big Bend of Florida in August 2023 as a Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph winds.

Now that the storm has made landfall, weakening will begin, and Debby should become a tropical storm by early afternoon as the center of the storm nears the Georgia line.

Here’s what to know about the storm as it sweeps through:

A string of watches and warnings are in effect:

Hurricane Debby makes landfall Monday morning in Florida's Big Bend region.

Hurricane Debby has made landfall in Florida near Steinhatchee with winds of 80 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center at 7 a.m. EDT.

The landfall is within 20 miles of Hurricane Idalia’s landfall, which also came ashore in the Big Bend of Florida in August 2023 as a Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph winds.

Now that the storm has made landfall, weakening will begin, and Debby should become a tropical storm by early afternoon as the center of the storm nears the Georgia line. 

The storm is forecast to slowly move toward and along the Southeast coast in the next couple of days, bringing life-threatening and potentially historical rainfall totals across parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Power outages in Florida impacted more than 200,000 customers Monday morning as Hurricane Debby made landfall along the Big Bend region of Florida.

More than 213,000 customers were without power, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us. That includes nearly half of the electric customers in Dixie and Taylor counties, the areas nearest the hurricane’s landfall.

Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed Monday.

Several airports were impacted, according to FlightAware, including:

While not within the storm’s direct path, Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport are all seeing cancellations and delays this morning.

Hurricanes are named using every letter of the alphabet, except q, u, x, y and z.

There are six lists of names that are in rotation — the names used this year will be used again in 2030. 

But, if a storm is so impactful it will be remembered for years to come, the name is retired. For example, there will never be another Hurricane Katrina.

Related article Ever wonder how hurricanes are named? CNN's meteorologist explains | CNN

High water levels are seen in Cedar Key, Florida, early on Monday, August 5.

Storm surge is rapidly piling up on shore in Florida’s Big Bend region as Hurricane Debby is nearing landfall.

High tide was supposed to occur around 4 a.m. at Cedar Key, but Debby’s powerful winds pushing onshore has caused the water level to rise by about a foot since then.

Water levels may continue to rise more in the next couple of hours as the storm’s wind continue to be onshore. 

The eyewall of Debby is moving onshore and landfall in the Florida Big Bend is expected within a couple of hours, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 5 a.m. ET update.

Debby has winds of 80 mph and is now moving north-northeast at 10 mph, 2 mph slower than the update last hour.

Florida’s Big Bend coastline is seeing the worst of Debby’s conditions now as the eye passes. 

Numerous reports of sustained tropical-storm-force winds have been made, but the strongest so far is in Horseshoe Beach, where a weather station recently recorded a sustained wind of 65 mph and gusts of up to 95 mph.

Catastrophic flooding potential: Debby’s forward speed is expected to slow even more after landfall, and there is high confidence that the storm’s slow movement over the Southeastern US will result in catastrophic flooding in some locations, dropping months’ worth of rain in the next several days.

A satellite image captured at 4 a.m. ET Monday shows Hurricane Debby nearing landfall.

Hurricane Debby is nearing landfall, with the eyewall moving onshore in the Florida Big Bend area, according to a special 4 a.m. ET update from the National Hurricane Center.

Landfall is when the center of the eye moves over land.

Debby has sustained maximum winds of 80 mph, with stronger gusts. It is about 40 miles west-northwest of Cedar Key, 80 miles south-southeast of Tallahassee, Florida, and is moving to the north-northeast at 12 mph.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's office shared photos of a downed tree and power line in Citrus Park, Florida, on August 4.

More than 100,000 homes and businesses are without power across Florida as Debby’s hurricane-force winds begin to batter the state, according to PowerOutage.com.

The majority of outages are in north-central Florida, including Levy and Suwannee counties.

Hurricane Debby is bringing gusty winds and life-threatening flooding across Florida early Monday.

After making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend later Monday morning, the storm is expected to push northeastward, where Georgia and South Carolina are bracing for severe weather.

Here’s what to expect along Debby’s path:

Near Steinhatchee, Florida (in potential landfall area):

Tallahassee, Florida

Jacksonville, Florida

Savannah, Georgia

Charleston, South Carolina

Men walk amid strong winds as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. on August 4.

Hurricane Debby is now packing maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and is just 40 miles west of the Floridian island of Cedar Key, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory at 2 a.m. ET.

The storm is forecasted to reach 85 mph before it slams into the coast Monday morning.

Though Debby has yet to make landfall, its hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds stretch for up to 140 miles, according to the hurricane center. 

This means strong winds and heavy rains are already bringing hazardous conditions to some areas, including flooding and debris-covered roads.

St. Petersburg has seen over a month’s worth of rainfall — 9.89 inches — in the last 48 hours, eclipsing its August average of 8.39 inches, the hurricane center said. More than 11 inches of rain have been reported in Pinellas Park and Palm Harbor.

A string of watches and warnings are in effect:

The main threat will be flooding, both from storm surges and heavy rainfall. Freshwater flooding, which is caused by rainfall, has become the deadliest impact of tropical systems in the last decade, according to the hurricane center — a threat made more dangerous as the world warms from fossil fuel pollution.

The Shore Acres neighborhood begins to flood from high tide in the Tampa Bay while Tropical Storm Debby approaches the gulf coast, in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S., on August 4.

High-water rescues were underway Sunday night in Pinellas County, Florida, as incoming Hurricane Debby whipped up heavy rains, storm surge and dangerous flooding, emergency officials said.

Emergency crews in the county, which includes the cities of Clearwater and St. Petersburg, were fielding very high volumes of 911 calls Sunday night.

A flash flood warning has been issued for more than 2 million people across an area that includes the Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties, as well as parts of Hernando and Hillsborough counties, the National Weather Service said.

Between 5 to 10 inches of rain have fallen in the area and as many as four more inches are possible.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge — a key transportation artery in Lower Tampa Bay — has been closed “due to high winds and inclement weather,” the Florida Highway Patrol announced.

The Clearwater Police Department has also reported debris on roadways, down trees and flooded parking lots.

Debby is the fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and the second named hurricane.

Debby’s arrival continues to cement an exceptionally early start to the hurricane season after Hurricane Beryl tore through the Caribbean and Texas last month as the earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record.

The second Atlantic hurricane does not occur, on average, until August 26.

School systems in Florida and Georgia have announced closures ahead of Hurricane Debby’s landfall. 

Florida State University, Florida A&M University, University of Florida, University of North Florida, and University of South Florida will be closed on Monday, according to the Florida Department of Education. 

About two dozen K-12 school systems in the state have announced closures for Monday, including Duval County Public Schools and Leon County Schools. 

Several school systems in Georgia have also announced closures. 

Savannah-Chatham County Public School System will have a half-day on Monday, and will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to its website. 

Long County Schools has announced that schools will be delayed until Thursday due to the storm. 

Savannah State University and Georgia Southern University have also suspended operations.

A wave crashes ashore as the region prepares for the possible arrival of Debby in Cedar Key, Florida, on August 4.

Debby, the fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, has become a Category 1 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The storm, located about 100 miles west-northwest of Tampa, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, is expected to make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region Monday morning.

Debby began dumping rain on parts of the state earlier Sunday as a tropical storm and is expected to unload potentially historic amounts of rainfall over the southeastern United States.

Debby is the second hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season after Hurricane Beryl hit Texas last month. On average, the second hurricane does not occur in the Atlantic until August 26th, as 2024 continues to pace ahead of normal.

A sign warns of a storm surge before the possible arrival of Debby, in Cedar Key, Florida on August 4.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster have declared states of emergency ahead of Hurricane Debby’s landfall.

DeSantis said Sunday that he’d activated the Florida National Guard so it would be poised to assist with humanitarian needs as well as search and rescue.

DeSantis called on residents to finish their preparations and to brace for power outages, “particularly in parts of the state like here in Tallahassee.”

DeSantis also urged Florida residents to avoid floodwaters ahead of the storm’s potentially significant flooding impacts, particularly in North Central Florida.

Hurricane Debby’s alarming rainfall potential is exactly the kind of forecast scientists say is more likely in a world warming due to fossil fuel pollution.

As Earth’s atmosphere warms, it can hold more moisture — 7% more for each degree Celsius increase in warming — which it can then wring it out in more intense spurts.

Scientists say this is happening in hurricanes, too, and also increasing the total amount of rain the storms can produce.

A study in the wake of the 2020 hurricane season, the most active on record, found hourly rainfall rates in all storms were made 5 to 10% more extreme by global warming, with an even more substantial impact on hurricanes.

Palm trees blow from Tropical Storm Debby's bands in Ft. Myers Beach, Florida, on August 4.

Debby is forecast to slow down enough that the storm will essentially park itself over the southeastern United States for multiple days, ringing out potentially historic amounts of rain in the process.

This dangerous wrinkle in the forecast might seem unusual, but it’s part of a trend in recent years as the planet’s atmosphere warms due to fossil fuel pollution.

The forward speed of tropical cyclones — the all-encompassing term for tropical storms, hurricanes, typhoons — slowed by 10% globally between 1949 and 2016, a 2018 study found.

There is some variation among ocean basins. The study found a 20% to 30% slowdown over land areas affected by North Atlantic and North Pacific tropical cyclones, respectively.

Tropical cyclones have slowed more in the Northern Hemisphere, which is significant because that is where a majority of storms occur each year.

There have been notable examples of this in recent years including 2018’s Hurricane Florence and 2017’s Hurricane Harvey, which broke the rainfall record for any US tropical cyclone when it unleashed more than 60 inches of rain on Texas.

A truck drives through high water in St. Petersburg, Florida, on August 4.

Weather Prediction Center forecasters have issued rare high risk forecasts for Debby’s rain over the Southeast in what is one of the most serious signs of the storm’s flood potential.

Storm rainfall totals of 10 to 20 inches are expected throughout the week as the system slows down. Some localized spots could see 30 inches of rain. This prompted the WPC to issue level 4 of 4, or high risks, for flooding rainfall.

Level 4 of 4 risks are only issued on about 4% of days annually but account for 39% of flood-related fatalities and 83% of flood-related damages in the continental US.

Freshwater flooding, which is caused by rainfall, has become the deadliest aspect of tropical systems in the last decade, according to the Hurricane Center — a threat made more dangerous as the world warms from fossil fuel pollution.

As a slow-moving Hurricane Debby churns along the Georgia-Carolina coastline heading into the new week, it could lead to seemingly endless amounts of rain for days, with totals potentially reaching over 2 feet.

The heaviest rain amounts could even top 30 inches or more, depending on how long Debby meanders, with some forecast models showing the storm could linger through at least Thursday.

The cities of Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, could both be drenched with a month’s worth of rain in a single day — and perhaps even an entire summer’s worth of rain over the course of the storm.

Potentially historic: Such exceptional rainfall would challenge state records for rain from a tropical cyclone: In Georgia, the record is 27.85 inches from 1994’s Alberto, while South Carolina’s record is 23.63 inches from Florence in 2018.

With an uptick in the intensity forecast comes an increase in forecasted storm surge, which occurs when ocean water is pushed inland by the onshore winds of a hurricane. Storm surge flooding above ground could rise to 6 to 10 feet along Florida’s Big Bend, and coastal Georgia and South Carolina could see surges reach 2 to 4 feet.

The role of climate change: A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture and can dump heavier rain. Warmer oceans can fuel stronger hurricanes, packing a punch with higher storm surge thanks to sea-level rise.

Warmer air and ocean temperatures fueled by human-induced climate change can lead to wetter tropical systems.

Sandbags are placed in front of the entrance to a candy shop in Madeira Beach, Florida, on August 4.

US President Joe Biden authorized a disaster declaration for Florida on Sunday as Debby swept across the state ahead of strengthening to a hurricane.

Ken Kruse looks out at the flood waters from Hurricane Idalia surrounding his apartment complex in Tarpon Springs, Florida, on August 30, 2023.

Florida’s Big Bend area is still recovering from a devastating blow by Category 3 Hurricane Idalia last August.

Idalia caused “significant damage” after it ripped into Florida with 125 mph winds and record-setting storm surge.

National Hurricane Center forecasts called for Idalia to rapidly intensify and strengthen all the way up to landfall. And for 24 hours, that proved to be true.

The hurricane’s winds increased by 55 mph, pushing Idalia into a 130-mph, Category 4 – a rate of intensification so exceptional it ranks in the top 0.4% of Atlantic storms since 1982, according to NOAA research meteorologist John Kaplan.

The storm left more than 100,000 Floridians without power, set new records for surge and triggered mandatory evacuation orders across the state.

Tom Street, left, and Dan Norman place plywood over the windows of a business as they prepare for the possible arrival of Debby in Cedar Key, Florida, on August 4.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for most of the state’s 67 counties to mobilize resources as storm Debby churned toward the Sunshine State.

Sandbag distribution began last week for residents in several communities in the Orlando and Tampa metro areas. Multiple counties in the state’s panhandle – including Escambia, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa – started distributing sandbags on Thursday.

Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan urged residents to prepare multiple days of food, water and prescription medicines.