By: Sandy Wang
On Sunday, August 4, 2024, tropical storm Debby escalated into a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico with just enough time to spare for some residents of Florida to be able to evacuate and prepare for the upcoming landfall.
Originally a tropical storm, Debby became a hurricane with winds of up to 80 miles per hour, resulting in hurricane warnings for Florida’s Gulf Coast and tropical storm/storm surge warnings along the coasts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Weather forecasters predicted Hurricane Debby to landfall in the Florida Panhandle on the morning of August 5. The landfall could cause a storm surge in Tampa Bay ranging from five to 10 feet in height.
As a result of this life-threatening storm surge, the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, called on 3,000 National Guard members to help handle the storm. Many voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders were issued throughout Florida, and shelters were set up starting August 3.
Over this week, Florida is expected to receive 6 to 12 inches of rain, while Georgia and South Carolina expect to receive 10 to 20 inches, which is way above normal. As Hurricane Debby moves from Florida to southern Georgia, parts of the state may get 30 inches of rain throughout Friday. “It is critical that residents in potentially affected areas start making preparations and plans in case it is necessary to take quick action,” Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina said to Johnny Diaz and Ali Watkins, reporters for The New York Times.
According to an article in The New York Times written by Orlando Mayorquín and Judson Jones, “In May, forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted an ‘above normal’ number of named storms for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, with 17 to 25 storms expected. Debby is the fourth named storm so far.”
Coincidentally, Hurricane Idalia, which happened last year, made landfall in the same place as Debby. As the strongest storm to hit the Big Bend coast of Florida, Idalia was a Category 3 hurricane, with 12-foot storm surges.
Link to Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/04/weather/florida-tropical-storm-debby.html