By: Nathan Tse
A storm called Debby turned into a Hurricane on July 29, 2024 and is heading to Florida.
Debby was a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico and turned into a Category one hurricane, meaning it’s the weakest type of hurricane, now with 80 miles per hour. In fact, as it gets closer and closer, it has made tornadoes possible. It is now due to reach Florida’s Big Bend, the area north of the east peninsula on the north-west part of Florida on Monday. It is also predicted to go up the east coast.
Florida and other countries are issuing evacuations due to storm surges and flooding was forecasted. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida ordered around 3,000 people from their National Guard to help act against the storm. North of Tampa is Hernando County, and they issued evacuation on Saturday, with a shelter built inside a school. Ron DeSantis had said that Hurricane Debby will be less of a problem with its winds, and more of a problem with its rain, and he wasn’t wrong.
The forecast predicts that Debby will pour 6 to 12 inches of rain in some parts of Florida, and 10 to 20 inches of rain and up to 30 inches of rain in Georgia and South Carolina. The governor of Georgia, Brian P. Kemp, and the governor of South Carolina, Henry McMaster, declaring the situation as an emergency said, “It is critical that residents in potentially affected areas start making preparations and plans in case it is necessary to take quick action.”
When Hurricane Debby touched down in Florida, it weakened back to a tropical storm, and is moving along the coast of Georgia right now. Forecasts predicts that it will go north a bit, then head across the Atlantic ocean, but no one knows what will happen after that.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/04/weather/florida-tropical-storm-debby.html