Hurricane forecasters started tracking another tropical wave in the Atlantic Ocean Sunday morning as Tropical Storm Debby continued moving through the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida.
Located a few hundred miles east of the Windward Islands, the tropical wave was producing showers and thunderstorms and moving west at around 20 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in an 7 a.m. update.
The system has a low 20% chance of forming within the next week, but forecasters said it could develop slowly as it moves over the Caribbean Sea.
Tropical Storm Debby
Tropical Storm Debby continued to strengthen Sunday morning over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, producing winds of 65 mph by 10 a.m.
Debby was still moving north-northwest toward the Big Bend region of Florida, where the storm is expected to make landfall as a hurricane Monday afternoon, bringing potentially "historic" rainfall to portions of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
The fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, Debby is not expected to impact Louisiana.
Brace for heavy rains and storm surge
A hurricane warning is in effect in Florida's Big Bend region, and the area could see life-threatening storm surge of 6 to 10 feet, rain and flash flooding as the storm makes landfall.
Heavy rainfall is expected to cause "considerable flooding impacts" from the Big Bend region through southeast Georgia and into the coastal plains of the Carolinas through Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Up to 18 inches of rain is possible in the Big Bend region, and up to 30 inches could dump on portions of southeast Georgia and South Carolina.
Tropical storm conditions are expected further south down Florida's west coast, in Tampa Bay and the Florida Keys.
Forecasters said it remains unclear exactly what will happen after Debby makes landfall.
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