Today on Tracking the Tropics, we continue to follow Tropical Storm Debby as it drifts through the southeastern U.S., and we'll take a look at what's to come as the tropics start ramping up. Tune in at 12:30 p.m. on WFLA.com and the WFLA Facebook page.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) -- As Tropical Storm Debby slams the southeast with tropical downpours, our Tracking the Tropics team takes a look at flooding in the Tampa Bay area.
Up to two feet of rain is expected to fall in some places this week as the storm meanders along the coast.
Debby's center was located about 15 miles south of Savannah, Georgia, as of the National Hurricane Center's 11 a.m. update, but the lopsided storm has already dumped inches of rain in the region. Its maximum sustained winds were at 40 mph.
Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday in Steinhatchee, located in the Big Bend region of Florida. The town is just miles from where Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 storm nearly a year ago.
Some cities in the Tampa Bay area received over a foot of rain from the storm's outer rain bands, leading to widespread flooding in parts of the region.
A disturbance in the Caribbean has a 30% chance of development over the next week as it moves into the southern Gulf of Mexico.
Conditions in the tropics are becoming more favorable for development as we approach peak hurricane season. It's that time of year when the tropics begin to "wake up," with tropical waves encountering low wind shear and very warm ocean waters they roll off the west African coast.
NOAA forecasters warned of a potentially "very active" Atlantic hurricane season when they released their 2024 outlook in May. They predicted the season will produce 17-25 named storms, 8-13 hurricanes and 4-7 major storms at Category 3 or above.
Debby was the second hurricane of the season, following the record-smashing major Hurricane Beryl.
