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The fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is officially among us – and residents of multiple southeastern states should start paying her some mind. Having evolved from a wave into a depression over the last two days, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) formally christened Tropical Storm Debby as a new named system on Friday afternoon.
NHC also issued hurricane warnings for the Florida Gulf coast “from the Suwannee River to the Ochlockonee River,” encompassing most of Florida’s “Big Bend” region.
As of 5:00 p.m. EDT, the newly named storm was located at latitude 23.9° N, longitude 83.2° W – or approximately 100 miles west-southwest of Key West, Florida. Hurricane hunter aircraft measured its maximum sustained winds at 40 miles per hour – just strong enough to qualify for tropical storm status.
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Debby was moving northwest at nearly 15 miles per hour, with her tropical storm-force winds extending outward from her center for 140 miles.
“This motion is expected to continue tonight, followed by a northward turn on Sunday and a slower northeastward motion Sunday night and Monday,” forecasters noted. “On the forecast track, the center of Debby will move across the southeastern and eastern Gulf of Mexico tonight and Sunday, reaching the Florida Gulf coast late Sunday night or Monday.”
Take a look …
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How strong will Debby be when she hits Florida? As we reported earlier today, there has been some debate on this point among meteorologists – with initial NHC forecasts calling for Debby to remain a tropical storm throughout her jaunt up the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Updated forecasts, however, are calling for Debby to attain hurricane status – i.e. to have maximum sustained winds higher than 74 miles per hour – by the time she reaches the Big Bend, which would make her the second hurricane of the season (after Hurricane Beryl).
“Strengthening is expected as Debby crosses the Gulf of Mexico, and the system is likely to be at or near hurricane strength when it reaches the Florida Gulf coast,” forecasters warned.
South Carolinians – especially those living in flood-prone Charleston and points further south – need to keep a very close eye on this system. As previously noted, Debby is projected to “curl back toward the eastern seaboard after its anticipated trek through the Gulf of Mexico.”
More ominously, forecast models are predicting the storm will stall after it traverses southern Georgia and churns into the Atlantic sometime early Wednesday. Such a forecast track – assuming it holds – means parts of the Palmetto State could see more than a foot of rainfall.
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“Tropical Storm Debby is expected impact South Carolina beginning Monday,” the S.C. Emergency Management Division (SCEMD) noted on X. “The storm is expected to produce rainfall totals of 6 to 12 inches across portions of coastal South Carolina from Monday through Thursday.”
According to the agency, “this rainfall is expected to result in areas of flash and urban flooding, with isolated river flooding possible.”
As previously reported, this is projected to be an extremely busy year in the Atlantic basin, with forecasters predicting a “blockbuster” and “super-charged” 2024 hurricane season.
NHC experts have projected between 17 and 25 named storms this season – a record-high estimate – including anywhere from eight to thirteen hurricanes and four to seven major hurricanes. Most seasons have fourteen named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
The record for named storms in a season is 30 – set in 2020.
For more information on what’s driving these projections, check out our first article on this current storm system. It includes a ton of background on the weather patterns impacting the Atlantic basin and has some hurricane history included.
Count on this media outlet to keep our audience advised as to the latest developments related to this system and its potential impact on the Palmetto State.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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