Significant flooding may be about to hit parts of Florida and Georgia. Over the weekend, Tropical Storm Debby developed and intensified in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, moving slowly northwards off the west coast of Florida. At the time of writing, forecast models were indicating that the storm was likely to develop into at least a category 1 hurricane before making landfall on Monday, with sustained winds in excess of 75mph. As the storm encounters the very warm coastal waters off western Florida, it may briefly develop into an even stronger storm.

The eye of the hurricane is expected to landfall around the Florida Big Bend region before crossing northern Florida, Georgia, into the eastern Carolinas, and into the Atlantic, during Tuesday and Wednesday. As well as potentially damaging winds, storm surge warnings are in place in coastal regions of Florida. Rainfall totals in excess of 10-20in (250-500mm) may lead to serious flooding across parts of northern Florida, south-east Georgia and South Carolina.

Japan has experienced significant heat recently with temperatures soaring into the high 30Cs in many areas and, last Sunday, temperatures neared 40C in Kyushu, the most southerly of Japan’s main islands. While daytime temperatures soar, across parts of eastern Japan in particular, the night-time minimum temperatures have remained very high, not dropping lower than the mid to high 20Cs. While the extreme heat is likely to continue for a few more days yet, there are signs of a drop in temperature from the middle of this week.

Following very warm or hot conditions across large parts of northern and western Europe last week, a large area of low pressure in the north-eastern Atlantic has, more recently, pushed cooler conditions across many northern European countries, a drop in temperature that has no doubt been welcomed at the Olympics in France. Through this week, hotter weather is likely to return to the Olympics with temperatures nearing 30Cs again in Paris later this week. However, for the final weekend and closing ceremony on Sunday, there looks to be a looming threat of thunderstorms once again.

TAMPA BAY – Photos and videos captured around the Tampa Bay area on Sunday show wind, rain and flooding as Tropical Storm Debby moves toward Florida.

Tropical Storm Debby is expected to become a hurricane before it makes landfall in Florida’s Big Bend on Monday. Until then, Floridians, such as those in the Tampa Bay area, feel its presence.

Footage shot by FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray shows how the wind produced violent waves that crashed onto the shore in Tampa Bay.

In the footage shown below, sheets of rain dump water on a Tampa Bay waterfront property as tree branches bend in the wind.

The video above captures images of wind and rain battering a pier in St. Petersburg. As the camera angle moves from the shore to the water, waves can be seen churning.

Images shot in a Treasure Island neighborhood show flooded roadways between homes.

Flooding in the Sunset Beach neighborhood of Treasure Island, Florida. Aug. 4, 2024.

(@TresIslandFL / X / FOX Weather)

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The city of St. Petersburg was also slammed by heavy rain and powerful wind.

Wind and rain in St. Petersburg, Florida. Aug. 4, 2024.

(Johnny Fitrakis via Storyful / FOX Weather)

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The storm has already caused damage, such as a downed streetlight in a Clearwater Beach neighborhood.

Downed street light from the 1700 block of Great Brikhill Road, according to the Clearwater Police Department. Aug. 4, 2024.

(@myclearwaterPD / X)

Waves were also hammering the shores of Venice, which is located south of Tampa. 

After making landfall in Florida, Debby is expected to bring powerful wind and heavy rain to Georgia and the Carolinas. 

Forecasters expect Tropical Storm Debby, a major weather system churning in the Gulf of Mexico, to reach hurricane-strength over the weekend before making landfall in Florida Monday morning.

State officials and meteorologists are urging residents along Florida’s Big Bend coast and beyond to prepare for high winds, potentially severe flooding and unusually heavy rains.

“It’s going to be far beyond the center of the storm. So just prepare for that,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said of the rainfall forecast during a Sunday morning press conference. “Just because you’re not in the eye of the storm, it does not mean you are not going to have major, major impacts from the storm.”

The National Hurricane Center says Debby could unleash catastrophic conditions in Florida as well as in parts of Georgia and South Carolina later in the week, dropping potentially record-breaking rainfall amounts in those two states.

“There are some really amazing rainfall totals being forecast — and amazing in a very bad way,” National Hurricane Center director Michael Brennan said during a Sunday briefing.

Florida could see six to 12 inches of rain, with isolated amounts as high as 18 inches, and coastal areas in Georgia and South Carolina could be hit even harder. Brennan said communities near Savannah and Charleston could see between 10 and 20 inches of widespread rainfall, with isolated totals as high as 30 inches in some areas.

“That would be record-breaking rainfall associated with a tropical cyclone for both the states of Georgia and South Carolina if we got up to the 30-inch level,” he noted.

Warmer ocean temperatures and higher sea levels driven by climate change are making hurricanes and tropical storms more intense, causing heavier rainfall and more extreme flooding.

Flash flooding and storm surge risks

As of Sunday morning, Debby was located about 130 miles west-southwest of Tampa with maximum sustained winds of around 65 miles per hour.

Storm surge warnings and watches as well as hurricane warnings and watches were in effect for parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast, particularly in the Tallahassee area and around the Big Bend. Forecasters said the storm surge could rise as high as six to 10 feet above ground level in communities between the Suwannee and Ochlockonee rivers. Some local mandatory and voluntary evacuations were in place.

Flash flooding was also in the forecast for parts of northern Florida, where DeSantis said the ground was already full of water in some places. “We already have saturation in those areas, so you are going to be at risk of flooding,” he said.

DeSantis issued an emergency declaration on Thursday ahead of the storm and readied search-and-rescue operations and other state resources to deal with the potential fallout from the severe weather. He told residents to expect power outages.

On Saturday, President Joe Biden approved Florida’s request for a federal emergency declaration ahead of Debby’s arrival, which authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to help coordinate disaster relief efforts.

After Debby makes landfall on Monday, forecasters expect the storm to slow to a crawl as it moves across Florida, Georgia and South Carolina over several days this week.

Brennan said the exact track the storm would take over land was still unclear, but forecasters were “very confident we’re going to have a slow-moving system that’s going to result in multiple days of very, very heavy rainfall.”

A storm surge watch was in effect on Sunday for parts of the Georgia and South Carolina coastlines from the St. Mary’s River in Georgia to the South Santee River in South Carolina.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency for the entire state, warning residents of the possibility of significant flooding.

Roughly the same area of Florida faced another major storm around this time last year, when Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on the state’s Gulf Coast in the waning days of August.

Idalia brought strong winds and heavy rains that caused widespread flooding across the region.