MIAMI — Authorities have issued a hurricane warning for parts of Florida amid forecasts indicating an increased chance of a future hurricane storm Tropical Debby is expected to continue strengthening into a hurricane by landfall in the next few days.
Tropical depression 4, which formed on Friday, was moving across western Cuba on Saturday morning, bringing heavy rain and winds. Given this scenario, authorities have issued warnings for different areas of Florida.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has issued a hurricane watch for parts of Florida’s Big Bend region, where it is forecast to make landfall as a strong tropical storm on Monday morning. Other areas that remain under tropical storm conditions for the next 48 hours include the west coast of Florida south of Big Bend and include Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers and Naples.
Tropical Depression Four has strengthened to sustained winds of 35 mph (56 km/h) according to the National Hurricane Center’s 2 p.m. ET update. The system was located 15 miles southeast of Havana, Cuba, and 115 miles south of Key West, Florida.
As it moves toward Florida’s Big Bend region, the system will pass over warm waters and continue to strengthen, and is likely to reach near or at hurricane strength as it moves northward up the Gulf Coast on Sunday.
The primary threat from this system will be flooding, both from storm surge and heavy rainfall. Widespread rainfall totals of 155 to 300 millimeters will likely result in flash and urban flooding across portions of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina as the storm passes.
Source: WRITING
