Current Events: A tropical storm is more approaching Florida town…read on

Current Events: A tropical storm is more approaching Florida town…read on

Miami As it made its way through the Gulf of Mexico on a collision course with Florida on Saturday, a tropical depression that had intensified into Tropical Storm Debby north of Cuba was now expected to turn into a hurricane.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds are at 40 mph, according to National Hurricane Center forecasters. Debby was traveling at a speed of fifteen miles per hour toward the northwest and was roughly 100 miles west-southwest of Key West, Florida.

A wide area, including southern Florida, the Florida Keys, and the Bahamas, has been hit by wind and thunderstorms.

By Sunday night, Debby is expected to produce heavy rains and coastal flooding to a large portion of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Predictions indicate that on Monday, the system may make landfall as a powerful hurricane or tropical storm and move over northern Florida and into the Atlantic Ocean.

Early this week, significant rains are also pred

icted for north Florida and the Atlantic coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season after Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris, all of which formed in June.

The system was expected to intensify as it curved off the southwest Florida coast, where the water has been exceptionally warm this week, with temperatures close to 92 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Based on forecasts, Debby may make landfall as a powerful tropical storm or hurricane on Monday. It is expected to traverse northern Florida and enter the Atlantic Ocean, where it is expected to persist as a tropical storm, posing a threat to Georgia and the Carolinas in the early part of this week.

A hurricane watch was issued for portions of the Big Bend and Florida Panhandle, and tropical storm warnings were posted for the majority of Florida’s West Coast and the Dry Tortugas. If there is a watch, storm conditions could develop within 48 hours, whereas a warning indicates that they are anticipated within 36 hours.