A tropical storm making landfall as a hurricane has already caused flooding on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Tropical Storm Debby brought storm surges of at least two feet to southwest cities like Fort Myers, with photos showing cars completely submerged in water.
According to officials at the National Hurricane Center, the storm is currently on a collision course with Tampa and is expected to become a Category 1 hurricane by Sunday evening.
The city’s airports have been thrown into chaos, with at least 120 flights canceled, including departing and arriving flights at Tampa International Airport.
Of the day’s 496 flights, nearly 200 are experiencing delays, with nearby Sarasota-Bradenton International barely better off. The storm’s rain bands are now moving through the area, hitting numerous coastal cities.
Scroll down for the video:
Tropical Storm Debby brought at least two feet of storm surge to southwest cities like Fort Myers, and photos show cars completely submerged there
“Debby will have a number of life-threatening and significant impacts over the next few days,” AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jon Porter warned over the weekend after flooding was reported in parts of South Florida on Saturday night.
‘We urge people, businesses and government officials in the path of the storm to check the AccuWeather forecast regularly, even more often than you normally would.
“This storm is going to be a dangerous and long week for people in parts of the southeastern United States,” the expert continued.
‘Don’t be fooled into thinking that Debby is currently considered a tropical storm.
“Tragically, we have seen many situations in the past where people were not adequately prepared for the dangerous threat that such a storm poses, due to the limitations of the Saffir-Simpson scale for hurricane winds.”
The expert then pointed out that the standard used by most meteorologists and the National Hurricane Center “categorizes a tropical storm or hurricane based solely on wind intensity,” and not on its tendency to produce storm surge.
He said one storm that fooled the wind scale was the hurricane that hit the Carolinas in 2018 known as Florence. That hurricane made landfall as a Category 1 on the wind scale, but would have been a 4 on AccuWeather RealImpact
because of the catastrophic flooding it caused.
According to Porter and other experts, Debby could cause a life-threatening storm surge of more than two to three meters high.
Lake Fort Myers, located in the middle of Florida’s Gulf Coast, can be seen here
A taste of what’s to come was seen in coastal cities like Fort Myers, Sanibel Island and Gulf Port, all of which lie along the state’s notoriously stormy west coast.
Meanwhile, the storm continues to move slowly across the Gulf of Mexico, where it continues to gain strength.
Officials expect the hurricane to hit the Sunshine State around 8 p.m., when the storm will be felt in full force.
On Monday morning, approximately 15 to 30 centimetres of rain is expected to fall, with some more northern areas seeing maximums of 45 centimetres.
Meanwhile, Porter said, the situation is constantly changing, meaning “the extent of the storm’s hazards and impacts will not be visible throughout the week,” the meteorologist warned.
Flooding is also possible in the southeast, he said. The storm is expected to move northeast across the state around 6 a.m. Monday and head toward the Atlantic Ocean around 8 p.m.
During that time, cities like Gainesville and Jacksonville are at risk, as are areas along the East Coast such as Fernandina Beach and St Augustine.
Flooding is expected again in Fort Myers on Sunday as rain showers move across the area, hitting numerous coastal cities.
Officials say widespread flooding is also possible in the Southeast as the storm is expected to move northeast across the state around 6 a.m. Monday before moving over the Atlantic Ocean around 8 p.m.
Fort Myers appears to be the hardest hit so far, but despite the severe flooding, no official evacuation order has been given yet.
Cape Coral is also struggling with flooding, as are the sister cities’ barrier island of Sanibel and Gulf Port further north.
The latter will be hit hard when the storm hits Tampa around 8 p.m. as it moves further north.
Meteorologists predict that the winds will shift to the northeast at that time and move across southern Georgia and the northern part of the state.
By then, Debby is expected to become a full-blown hurricane and could strengthen further.
Citizens in areas that will be affected are advised to stay indoors. Power outages are expected.
“As AccuWeather hurricane experts have been emphasizing since last week, ahead of other major sources, confidence is growing in major flooding from continued heavy rainfall across parts of the southeastern United States,” officials said Saturday.
“Experts are increasingly concerned that if heavy rain bands continue to produce heavy rainfall over the same areas for days, it could create a catastrophic flood disaster in some places,” officials said. Floodwaters in Fort Myers measured at least two feet on Saturday. Seen here
“Experts are increasingly concerned that if heavy rainfall continues for days in the same area, catastrophic flooding could occur in some places,” Porter personally stressed.
‘When heavy rainfall occurs in the interior of the Carolinas, that water eventually ends up in rivers and other waterways that flow to the coast.
‘The water flowing towards the coast, combined with the persistent current on land, can cause the rivers to overflow because they can no longer escape. This can increase the already high risk of flooding along and near the coastal areas.’