Florida braces for tropical storm with hurricane force winds and ocean surges

A tropical storm with near hurricane strength winds and life threatening storm surges is expected to crash into Florida’s Big Bend area on the northern Gulf coast shoreline by Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.

As of 5pm ET on Saturday, the storm, named Debby, had maximum sustained wind speeds of 40mph and was moving off the coast of Havana, Cuba, and towards Florida. The National Hurricane Center has designated Debby with an advisory 6.

“By Sunday evening it is predicted to still be over Gulf waters and is expected to make landfall early Monday morning,” said Michael Brennan, the director of National Hurricane Center, at a media briefing on Saturday.

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“Time to make your preparations in case of evacuations is now,” Brennan said. “Prepare for possible hurricane conditions late Sunday night into Monday morning.”

It could dump 15 inches of rain and bring “life threatening” storm surges of 3-to-5 ft above ground level along the coasts, Brennan said, before the storm cuts across central Florida and aims up to Savannah, Georgia, and then toward Charleston, South Carolina.

Powerful ocean surges are forecast for Bonita Beach northward to Tampa Bay. Those surges could send powerful sea waves further inland than normal, damaging structures and threatening anyone in their path.

Parts of three Gulf coast Florida counties, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus, have issued mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders on Saturday.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for extreme southern Florida and stretching as far north as the Fort Myers area, which was crushed by Hurricane Ian in 2022.

The state governor, Ron DeSantis has put most of the state’s cities and counties under emergency orders ahead of the expected landfall.

“Floridians are encouraged to monitor weather conditions, listen to all orders from local officials, create disaster preparedness plans, and stock disaster supply kits with food, water, and other necessities for their households,” DeSantis’s office said on Friday.

The Florida National Guard has approximately 3,000 service members ready for response efforts, his office added. Moreover, Florida state guard has activated 70 FSG members to support response and recovery operations, nine shallow water vessels and two amphibious rescue vehicles staged for deployment, as well as seven search and rescue crews prepared to be deployed from Camp Blanding.

The state’s corrections department has also designed evacuation plans in place to, “should the need arise, relocate inmates from smaller satellite facilities into larger parent facilities, and is evaluating major institutions that may be at risk of flash flooding”.

Meanwhile, the state’s education department announced that Jefferson county school district will be closed on Monday, along with Florida A&M University, as well as Florida Gateway College and North Florida College.

As of Saturday afternoon, at least 50 state parks have been closed, including any associated with overnight accommodations, according to Florida State Parks.

Multiple counties including Leon, Gadsden, Jefferson and Wakulla, as well as cities including Tallahassee have announced sandbag sites for residents, USA Today reports.

In Alabama, the city of Vestavia announced that six members of its fire department’s swift water rescue team will leave Saturday for Tallahassee in response to the incoming storm, according to local outlets. The crew is expected to be deployed for up to ten days and will assist with search and rescue operations.

“Vestavia Hills fire department always stands ready to help those in need,” said the Vestavia Hills fire chief Marvin Green, who added, “We are proud to have the available assets – both highly-trained personnel and specialized equipment – to quickly assist in an impactful way and work to keep everyone as safe as possible.”

US forecasters expect a large number of Atlantic hurricanes to form in the 2024 season, which began 1 June, with four to seven major hurricanes forming out of 25 named storms. That is more than the record-breaking 2005 season that spawned hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Only one hurricane, Beryl, has formed in the Atlantic so far this year. The earliest category 5 storm on record, it ravaged the Caribbean and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula before rolling up the Gulf coast of Texas as a category 1 storm, with winds up to 95mph (152.8 km/h).

The storm is expected to follow a similar track as the deadly 2022 Hurricane Ian, which killed at least 103 people in Florida and did billions of dollars in damage as it made its way along the Gulf coast.