Hurricane Debby live updates: Category 1 storm makes landfall in Florida

Hurricane Debby has made landfall in Florida, with the Category 1 storm bringing risks of life-threatening storm surge and major flooding to the Big Bend region.

The National Hurricane Center announced at around 7am ET on Monday that Debby had made landfall near Steinhatchee with winds of 80 mph.

The storm is expected to bring “life-threatening” storm surge of up to 10 feet along Florida’s Gulf Coast . The southeast US could also historic levels of rainfall this week, the National Weather Service said.

Some areas of Georgia and South Carolina could see up to 30 inches of rain through Friday, while Florida could see up to 18 inches throughout the week, according to the NWS.

Debby will travel across Florida before blowing through southern Georgia on Tuesday. The storm is forecasted to hit South Carolina Wednesday through Friday before calming.

Governor Ron DeSantis has placed more than 60 of Florida’s counties under a state of emergency as the storm approaches. “Just because you are not in the eye of the storm doesn’t mean you’re not going to have major, major effects,” he said.