Debby moved onshore early Monday morning as a category 1 hurricane with 80 mile per hour winds near Steinhatchee in Florida’s Big Bend. But much of Florida has been seeing heavy rains and isolated tornadoes since Sunday as Debby intensified in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sunday and Monday, the outer rain bands of Debby moved over the Sunshine State bringing heavy tropical rains and spinning-up short lived tornadoes.
Later Sunday night, the tropical storm force winds began being felt across parts of north and central Florida and rains became steadier and heavier in areas close to the approaching eye. Areas south of I-10 and west of I-75 picked up the most rainfall, with some locations seeing over a foot of accumulated rainfall through Monday afternoon.
As Debby moves northward, it will not be moving quickly. The eye of Debby will linger in South Georgia and drift into South Carolina by midweek.
This close proximity to the center of Debby’s circulation will mean that much of the same areas or north and Central Florida that were impacted by Debby Monday, will continue to be targeted by Debby’s outer rain bands Tuesday and possibly Wednesday.
Monday evening, these rain bands could continue to pose risks of spin up tornadoes. The Storm Prediction Center has outlined the areas generally east of I-74 and from I-4 northward in the slight category for severe storm risk, with the severe risk being primarily from isolated tornadoes. This slight risk area for Monday evening does include Jacksonville, Orlando, Ocala, and much of the Tampa metro.
Tuesday, as the center of what is expected to still be Tropical Storm Debby over Georgia will continue to influence Florida forecasts. More tropical rainfall from the outer bands of Debby will keep a large portion in the peninsula in a slight risk area for flash floods. Rains Tuesday will not be as widespread, but these rain bands will still be capable of very high rain rates of over 2” per hour.
