By: Victoria You

Tropical Storm Debby had quickly turned into a hurricane on Sunday, just a few hours before it was expected to make landfall. Debby brought tropical storms to the Gulf of Mexico and turned into a hurricane with winds of 80 miles per hour. Tornadoes had been predicted from Monday morning throughout Florida.

South Carolina and Georgia had activated their emergency resources, opened temporary shelters, and told residents to be prepared to evacuate and expect power outages. Debby was thought to reach Georgia Tuesday morning and unleash six to twelve inches of rain in places in Florida during this week. Rainwater was expected to be 10 to 20 inches in Georgia and South Carolina, with about 30 inches of rain in places expected on Friday. Georgia Governor Bryan P. Kemp called for a state of emergency, warning citizens to be cautious. “It is critical that residents in potentially affected areas start making preparations and plans in case it is necessary to take quick action,” he said..

Also, Mr. Brennan said, “If you have been asked to evacuate by your local officials and you live in one of those storm surge evacuation zones, you still have time to get to a safe place.” This year’s hurricane season will be very busy. Forecasters and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have predicted an above-normal amount of storms for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. The first one was Alberto, which landed in Mexico as a tropical storm opened and left a minimum of 4 people DEAD. After Alberto was Beryl, which hit a few weeks later, becoming the earliest Category 5 hurricane EVER recorded.