ROANOKE, Va. – Debby is the second hurricane to make landfall along the big bend of Florida in the past year. Prior to 2023, it had been since 1935 that the area had seen a direct landfall. First Idalia in 2023, now Debby in 2024.
Here is the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center regarding hurricane Debby. It is expected to take its time as it moves across the peninsular state of Florida and eventually move into Georgia before going back over warm water in the Atlantic. This period will give Debby the time to regather itself and suck up even more moisture before heading for the Carolinas.
It is important to note that the NHC provides frequent updates on tropical systems. For more info directly regarding Debby, please visit https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at4.shtml?start#contents
If you noticed in the previous graphic, Debby is not in a rush to move. In fact, it may take days for it to trek up the coast. The reason for this is because of the mid to upper-level setup. Two areas of high pressure are battling each other. This is causing counterflow ahead of Debby’s path.
High pressure to the west is tugging Debby south while high pressure to the east is tugging Debby north. This opposing flow is causing a massive slowdown, and while Debby is not a very strong storm, it does pose some very high threats.
Flash flooding is by far the biggest threat that Debby poses. Because of it’s lackluster speed, there will be overwhelming amounts of rain impacting the coastal and inland areas of the southeast.
Rainfall through Wednesday shows estimates near 20 inches and greater along the Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina coastlines. There is plenty of precipitable water (moisture content for rain) in the region that will be squeezed out in the coming days. Some areas will only see trace amounts of rain, while others will see historic, life-threatening and potentially record breaking amounts.
Debby’s wind field will become smaller as it weakens over land. However, tropical storm force winds and hurricane force wind gusts will continue along the southeast for the next several days.
This is where the threat for damages becomes high. Flash flooding and heavy rain loosens the soil, then strong wind gusts follow and uproot trees which then takes out powerlines. This will unfortunately occur for several days.
Speaking locally, Debby will bring an increase in cloud cover along with the threat for some heavy rain later in the week. While future rainfall estimates show upwards of 5 inches in parts of the region, these values are going to change. I cannot stress that enough.
As mentioned before, Debby is wedged between two areas of high pressure that are guiding it along slowly. Any fluctuations in the strength of both Debby and the areas of high pressure can quickly change the course of the storm.
Be aware that the potential for localized flash flooding does exist later this week, especially given the storms history. More updates will come as more information comes in, and we get closer to the potential arrival of Debby.
Again, for immediate information regarding Hurricane Debby, please visit the National Hurricane Center. To stay up to date with local forecasts and weather information, download our weather app.