Hurricane Debby made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast early Monday, knocking power out for hundreds of thousands of people as the US southeast braced for potentially historic levels of rain and major flooding.
The Category 1 storm hit near Steinhatchee about 7 a.m. ET with winds estimated at 80 mph. Shortly after landfall, power outages skyrocketed to above 250,000 utility customers in the Sunshine State.
By midweek, the storm is expected to dump extreme amounts of nearly 2 feet of rain on parts of Georgia and South Carolina.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is forecasting “potentially historic rainfall” across southeastern Georgia and South Carolina through Friday, causing widespread flash flooding and life-threatening conditions.
The governors of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have declared a state of emergency and are urging residents to prepare for the multiple impacts the storm will bring.
Flooding rain, strong winds and storm surge were already being seen across the Sunshine State before the storm made landfall Monday morning. Several feet of storm surge and hurricane-force winds are forecast to pummel Florida as the storm moves inland.
Views from the Fort Myers area showed feet of flooding Sunday afternoon as rainbands from Debby lashed the state. In St. Petersburg, waves lashed the coast as tropical-storm-force winds howled.
Now that Debby has made landfall, the storm is expected to move northeastward through Florida and bring historic rain and life-threatening storm surge to Georgia and the Carolinas.
