Hurricane “Debby” makes landfall in Florida, historic rains expected in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas

Hurricane “Debby” made landfall near Steinhatchee in Florida’s Big Bend at 11:00 UTC on Monday, August 5, 2024. Debby had minimum central pressure of 979 hPa and maximum sustained winds of 130 km/h (80 mph) at the time of landfall, making it a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. It was moving NNE at 17 km/h (10 mph).

• Debby will slowly track across the Southeast over the next several days. Tornadoes, catastrophic flash and urban flooding, coastal flooding, rip currents, and strong gusty winds are all expected.
• Rainfall totals of 150 – 300 mm (6 – 12 inches), with maximum amounts of 450 mm (18 inches), are expected across portions of central and northern Florida as well as central and northeast North Carolina through Saturday morning, August 10. This rainfall will likely result in areas of considerable flash and urban flooding, with significant river flooding expected.
• Across portions of southeast Georgia, the coastal plain of South Carolina, and southeast North Carolina, 250 – 500 mm (10 – 20 inches) of rainfall, with local amounts up to 750 mm (30 inches), are expected through Saturday morning. This potentially historic rainfall will likely result in areas of catastrophic flooding.

Debby is expected to move slowly across northern Florida and southern Georgia through Tuesday, August 6, and be near the Georgia coast by Tuesday night.

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) Public Advisory issued at 09:00 UTC today, the combination of storm surge and tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline.

The water could reach the following heights above ground in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide:

• Yankeetown, FL to Ochlockonee River, FL: 1.8 – 3 m (6 – 10 feet)
• Chassahowitzka, FL to Yankeetown, FL: 1.2 – 1.8 m (4 – 6 feet)
• Ochlockonee River, FL to Indian Pass, FL: 1.2 – 1.8 m (4 – 6 feet)
• Middle of Longboat Key, FL to Chassahowitzka, FL: 0.9 – 1.5 m (3 – 5 feet)
• Tampa Bay: 0.9 – 1.5 m (3 – 5 feet)
• Mouth of the St. Mary’s River to South Santee River, SC: 0.6 – 1.2 m (2 – 4 feet)
• Middle of Longboat Key, FL to Englewood, FL: 0.6 – 1.2 m (2 – 4 feet)

Debby is expected to produce rainfall totals of 150 – 300 mm (6 – 12 inches), with maximum amounts of 450 mm (18 inches), across portions of central and northern Florida as well as central and northeast North Carolina through Saturday morning. This rainfall will likely result in areas of considerable flash and urban flooding, with significant river flooding expected.

Across portions of southeast Georgia, the coastal plain of South Carolina, and southeast North Carolina, 250 – 500 mm (10 – 20 inches) of rainfall, with local amounts up to 750 mm (30 inches), are expected through Saturday morning. This potentially historic rainfall will likely result in areas of catastrophic flooding.

A few tornadoes are possible over central and northern Florida and southeastern Georgia today. The threat will spread northeastward into parts of South Carolina later today and tonight.

Swells generated by Debby are expected to affect much of the Gulf Coast of Florida through tonight. Swells will begin to affect the Southeast U.S. coast later today and continue through the middle of the week. These conditions are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

According to CSU meteorologist Dr. Philip Klotzbach, Debby is the fourth hurricane to make landfall in Florida in August since 2000. The other three are Charley in 2004, Katrina in 2005, and Idalia in 2023.

Debby is the second hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. On average, second Atlantic hurricane forms on August 26.

References:

¹ Hurricane Debby Advisory Number 12 – NWS/NHC – 09:00 UTC on August 5, 2024

Teo Blašković

I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.

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