UPDATE: Hurricane Debby expected to impact South Georgia

UPDATED at 12:10 a.m., Mon., Aug. 5

Hurricane Debby is now a Category 1 storm, according to a post on X by the National Hurricane Center.

Tropical Storm Debby is expected to strengthen to a Category 1 hurricane before it makes landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast and moves over South Georgia on Monday.

The Weather Channel reports that Debby could bring historically heavy rainfall, gusty winds, and tornadoes from Florida’s Big Bend to South Central and Southeast Georgia and coastal Georgia and South Carolina.

On Saturday, Gov. Brian Kemp issued a state of emergency for all 159 Georgia counties in anticipation of the storm. In metro Atlanta, scattered thunderstorms are expected as the outer bands of Debby reach into North Georgia.

Georgia Department of Transportation teams statewide have equipment loaded and crews are on alert, including immediate-response strike teams ready to respond to the historic rainfall event and expected flooding. Motorists can expect detours and road closures as the department responds to the anticipated impacts of the storm.

Georgia Power said on social media that it was also preparing for the storm by moving teams into strategic areas to immediately respond to outages.

The National Hurricane Center forecasts rainfall totals in Southeast Georgia, particularly within 50 miles of Savannah, could be as much as 20 inches which is highly unusual for the area. Additionally, there exists a high probability of strong winds and flash, urban, and river flooding.

For real-time road conditions, call 511 or visit www.511ga.org . For weather information, visit the National Weather Service .

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