Hurricane Debby expected to bring flooding rainfall to the southeast coast

As of the National Hurricane Center's 11 pm update Sunday, Debby has been upgraded from a tropical storm to a category 1 hurricane.

Despite a ragged eye, the structure is continuing to improve. Strengthening is possible as it moves over the warm Gulf waters. It is forecast to reach the Big Bend of Florida by Monday morning.

Debby is then expected to move slowly across northern Florida and southern Georgia Monday and Tuesday. Some weakening is expected as it moves inland.

The storm is anticipated to stall over Georgia and South Carolina. Portions of southeast Georgia and South Carolina could see 10 to 20 inches of rainfall, with local amounts as high as 30 inches through Friday morning.

As for North Carolina and Virginia, there is still a lot of uncertainty about the exact amount of rain we'll see but models are hinting at southernmost spots receiving up to 5 inches. Either way, flooding is to be expected.

Even though there's still a lot of uncertainty, now is a good time to make sure you're prepared! We have several chances for showers and storms before Tropical Storm Debby heads our way. We should start to see some moderate to heavy rainfall from Debby by Wednesday.

Dangerous rip currents will also be likely by the end of the week.

Stay with News 3's First Warning Storm Team for the latest updates as the storm develops.