4 dead after Debby slams Florida, causing massive flooding and widespread outages: Updates

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS: This article has been updated to reflect that a 12-year-old girl died in a Sunday vehicle crash, according to a corrected Florida Highway Patrol news release.

Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news about Tropical Storm Debby for Monday, Aug. 5. For the latest on the storm, view USA TODAY's live updates for Tuesday, Aug. 6.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ? Debby, now a tropical storm, roared ashore Monday along the Big Bend coast of Florida, killing at least four people, flooding streets, and causing widespread power outages as the storm roared toward Georgia and South Carolina, where it's expected to bring catastrophic flooding this week.

"Tornadoes, catastrophic flash and urban flooding, coastal flooding, rip currents, strong gusty winds are all expected,'' in parts of the Southeast over the next several days, the National Weather Service said.

An apparent tornado touched down on Edisto Beach, South Carolina after 9:30 p.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service in Charleston. There were multiple reports of structures damaged on Edisto Beach and across the river from Edisto Island from the radar-confirmed tornado, the weather service said.

Other popular beach destinations, including Kiawah Island and Johns Island, were being warned of possible tornado activity as additional severe storms moved onshore.

Debby, the fourth named storm of what is predicted to be a historic hurricane season, made landfall Monday at 7 a.m. near the coastal town of Steinhatchee as a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Steinhatchee, about 70 miles west of Gainesville and home to some 500 people, is just 10 miles from where Hurricane Idalia came ashore last year.

After more than three hours moving across northern Florida, Debby was downgraded to a tropical storm with sustained winds of 70 mph, the hurricane center said in its 11 a.m. ET update. By 11 p.m., the winds had diminished to 45 mph, though the storm was still dropping copious amounts of rain.

State officials reported widespread flooding and inundating storm surge as Debby moved inland. The storm's winds uprooted trees and toppled utility poles, knocking out power to more than 250,000 homes and businesses throughout northern Florida. Forecasters said Debby's powerful winds could also spawn tornadoes, and storm surge could reach 10 feet in some areas.

"This is a life-threatening situation," the hurricane center warned.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden declared an emergency across Florida, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard were activated to support humanitarian assistance and search-and-rescue missions.

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Developments:

? Vice President Kamala Harris postponed her campaign rally scheduled for Friday in Savannah, Georgia, because of the expected deluge there, campaign officials said.

? The storm surge produced by Debby brought 25 packages of cocaine with a street value of more than $1 million to a Florida beach, where a passer-by noticed them and alerted authorities, a Border Patrol official posted on the X platform.

? The National Hurricane Center recorded a 98 mph wind gust near Horseshoe Beach, according to the Florida Severe Weather Network, a collection of state-run weather stations.

? The National Water Prediction Service projected major flooding in three locations on the Santa Fe River and a location on the Suwannee River in north Florida.

? Debby wreaked havoc on travel. More than 1,700 flights had been canceled and upwards of 5,800 were delayed Monday, according to flight tracking site FlightAware. The Federal Aviation Administration said all flights at Orlando International Airport have been grounded while airports in Tallahassee and Gainesville were closed.

What lies ahead for the Southeast coast

Debby is projected to move slowly across northern Florida before unleashing "potentially historic heavy rainfall" across the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, according to the Weather Prediction Center.

Widespread rainfall totals of 10-20 inches are expected from northern Florida to southeastern North Carolina, while parts of northern Georgia and South Carolina, including Charleston, could get upward of 30 inches of rain through this weekend, Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center, said in a YouTube livestream.

Debby is expected to head into the Atlantic Ocean by late Tuesday night, then regain strength for a day or two before soaking the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, whose governors have already declared states of emergency as they urge residents to prepare.

North Carolina and the mid-Atlantic will start getting heavy rain by midweek, the prediction center said, and tropical storm effects could be felt as far north as southern New England late in the week, AccuWeather reported.

Death toll up to four after truck driver is killed

At least four storm-related deaths have been reported in Florida.

The driver of a semi-truck was killed overnight near Temple Terrace after losing control of his vehicle on a wet Interstate 75 northeast of Tampa, the National Weather Service reported.

The three previously reported deaths linked to the storm included a woman and a 12-year-old girl killed in a car crash and a teenage boy killed when a tree fell on a mobile home.

The truck driver, a 64-year-old man from New Albany, Mississippi, lost control of the truck at around 2:30 a.m., Sgt. Steve Gaskins, a public affairs officer with the Florida Highway Patrol, said in a news release. The truck rotated on the wet highway, collided with a concrete barrier and went over the wall, coming to rest hanging over a bridge. Gaskins said the cab came loose from the trailer and fell into a deep canal below.

Divers from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office responded shortly afterward and found the deceased driver still inside the cab underwater in the canal, according to an X post by the Sheriff’s office.

Lt. Scott Tummond, a spokesperson for the Levy County Sheriff's Office, told USA TODAY on Monday that more trees could fall after torrential downpours soaked the ground, posing a threat to residents on the road at night.

"If you're moving around after dark, you might not see it until it's too late, especially if you're driving," he warned.

Fallen tree kills 13-year-old amid Hurricane Debby

A 13-year-old boy was killed as Hurricane Debby made landfall along the Florida coast Monday morning, the Levy County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Deputies responded to a report of a tree that had fallen onto a mobile home around 8 a.m. in Fanning Springs, about 35 miles east from where the hurricane came ashore. The boy who died was "crushed inside the home," the sheriff's office said.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with this family as they deal with this tragedy,” the sheriff’s office said, urging people to be careful as they begin to assess the storm damage. “Downed power lines and falling trees are among the many hazards. One life is too many. Please be safe.”

– Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY

Risk of tornadoes

With the center of Debby about 35 miles west of Brunswick, Georgia at 11 p.m. Monday, the Storm Prediction Center said a risk of tornadoes continued in the storm’s northeast quadrant, along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina.

The center said it would likely extend a tornado watch for at least some of the 13 counties in the region beyond the scheduled 1 a.m. expiration. In addition to the earlier tornado on Edisto Island, the weather service said it had confirmed a tornado on radar on Kiawah Island around 11 p.m.

South Carolina town under curfew ahead of storm

Authorities in Charleston, South Carolina, issued a curfew from 11 p.m. Monday through noon Tuesday ahead of what forecasters warn could be a calamitous storm.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency on Sunday as Tropical Storm Debby readied to hit South Carolina’s coast this week. The center will move offshore late Tuesday and Wednesday and approach the coast on Thursday.

The governor said that as of Monday, he does not anticipate needing to issue any evacuation orders or order the closure of state facilities or agencies. John Quagliariello, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the state would likely see "historic rainfall" that would result in "catastrophic" flash flooding.

"It's very likely that some areas that have never flooded in the past will be impacted this time," Quagliariello said.

– Savannah Moss, Greenville News

Town still recovering from Idalia gets walloped by Hurricane Debby

Donna Luce lost power at 6 a.m. Monday and said rain came down for hours as the storm approached and eventually made landfall. Her home’s rain gauge showed 7 inches of rain fell Sunday alone, she said.

“It is still raining pretty hard and we expect to get that most of the day, kind of like it’s sitting right here on top of us,” Luce told USA TODAY on Monday morning.

Many fellow residents in Mayo, a small town about 30 miles north of where Debby came ashore, have spent the past year recovering from Hurricane Idalia, said Luce, 65.

“Most people had just gotten their roofs repaired, and had gotten back up on their feet,” she said, adding that several of her neighbors still had tarps on their roofs this summer. “Now it’s hitting us again one year later and we are a little discouraged."

– Claire Thornton, USA TODAY

Flooding from Hurricane Debby could last 5-10 days

The widespread flooding and significant storm surge Debby has caused across northern Florida are expected to last several days, DeSantis said Monday.

Kevin Guthrie, the executive director for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said some parts of southwest Florida received up to a foot of rain as Debby approached the Big Bend region. He added that flooding in northern Florida will be widespread as up to 20 inches could fall over the next few days.

Guthrie cautioned people to stay indoors as flash floods break out inland and storm surge continues to inundate coastal communities.

The flood threat from Hurricane Debby, Guthrie said, "is probably going to be here for the next five to seven days, maybe as long as 10 days depending on how much rainfall we get.”

Storm sounds like a freight train, uproots trees

Alice Brown and her husband were awoken by what sounded like a freight train early Monday morning. They soon realized it was the wind and rain lashing their home as Hurricane Debby approached the Big Bend region and eventually made landfall.

“This was the strongest wind and most rain I’ve ever seen,” Brown told USA TODAY.

Brown, 68, lives in downtown High Springs, a small city of some 6,000 people outside Gainesville. While she did not lose power, several of her friends had their power knocked out overnight and were still without it Monday afternoon.

Jordan Huey, one of Brown’s neighbors, woke up to a tree falling within inches of his son’s bedroom. Another tree in his yard uprooted and destroyed at least 20 feet of his fence. Huey still had not been able to assess the damage because powerful wind gusts were still hurling tree limbs and other debris outside.

“This is the worst it’s ever been in our area,” said Huey, 52.

Several reports of more than 10 inches of rainfall

Debby is leaving behind some eye-popping rain totals, including the 16.56 inches over two days reported by a weather station at Lakewood Ranch in Manatee County. There have been several reports of more than 10 inches of rain across the county, including 12.43 inches at the Sarasota Bradenton airport.

The weather service in Jacksonville issued a flash flood warning for parts of four counties in north Florida, saying between 7 and 14 inches of rain have fallen, and another 3 to 6 inches are possible.

With Debby's center still over north Florida by early afternoon, a daily rainfall record was set at Charleston International Airport in South Carolina, with 2.29 inches to that point, according to meteorologist Steven Taylor with the National Weather Service in Charleston.

Taylor also reiterated the forecast of 10-20 inches of rain with localized amounts near 30 inches is still on track. "The situation still looks favorable for a historic rainfall event with areas of catastrophic flooding. This is a potentially significant and life-threatening event," he said.

Woman, girl die in crash as Hurricane Debby approached Florida coast

A woman and a girl died in a single-vehicle crash in Dixie County on Sunday night, the eve of Hurricane Debby’s landfall, according to a law enforcement report.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers arrived at the scene of the crash around 9:30 p.m. A 38-year-old woman and 12-year-old girl were pronounced dead, while a 14-year-old boy was seriously injured and rushed to a hospital for treatment.

Witnesses told the Florida Highway Patrol the car lost control “due to inclement weather and wet roadway.”

“After losing control, the vehicle struck the guardrail in the center median, then redirected, overturning, leaving the roadway to the right,” the Florida Highway Patrol said. The crash is under investigation.

More than 130K without power after Debby makes landfall

More than 130,000 homes and businesses in Florida, the majority of them in the north, were without power by 12 a.m. ET on Tuesday as Debby continued its path across the state.

The outages were most abundant from Wakulla to Levy County, according to Poweroutage.us. In Taylor County, where Hurricane Debby made landfall at 7 a.m., more than 97% of utility customers lost power at one point. In several surrounding counties, that figure was well over 80%.

At a news conference Monday morning, DeSantis said 17,000 linemen across the state were poised to begin restoring power once the storm passes.

Forecasters watching tropical system near Caribbean 

Debby wasn't the only storm forecasters were watching Monday. They were also keeping an eye on another developing tropical system that was approaching the Caribbean Sea.

Although chances for development were low as of Monday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said "environmental conditions are expected to become more conducive for development later this week as the system moves across the western Caribbean Sea or the southern Gulf of Mexico."

If its winds eventually reach 39 mph, the system would become a named tropical storm. The next name on the list is Ernesto. It's too early to determine if there will be any impact to the U.S. from this system.

Pacific sets 50-year record for storms

The eastern Pacific hurricane season has also heated up: The Pacific currently has four named storms spinning at the same time: Carlotta, Daniel, Emilia and Fabio. This is the first time since August 1974 that the eastern North Pacific has had four named storms simultaneously, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.

None of the four storms are forecast to approach or impact land as they spin far out to sea in the Pacific, the National Hurricane Center said.

The activity in the Pacific comes after a very slow start to the season. For the first time since the satellite era began in 1966, the entire North Pacific saw no named storm activity between June 1 and July 3, Klotzbach said.

What makes Debby such a treacherous storm?

Debby is a large and slow-moving storm, making the system particularly dangerous as record amounts of rain inundate many areas, especially along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina in the coming days.

The storm’s center was forecast to move near Savannah, Georgia, on Tuesday night and drag along the South Carolina Coast on Thursday night. "Multiple days of very, very heavy rainfall" are possible, Brennan said. The National Weather Service estimates rainfall totals could reach up to 30 inches or more in isolated locations along the coast through Friday.

Debby shows there's more to a storm than wind scale

The widespread flooding caused by Debby even after being downgraded to a tropical storm illustrates how the wind scale categories used to define hurricanes can fall short of telling the whole story of their impact, scientists say.

"This is another example of a storm where the primary impacts are going to be from water, rather than wind," said James Franklin, a retired branch chief of the hurricane specialist unit at the National Hurricane Center.

Jennifer Collins, a professor in the Geosciences School at the University of South Florida, has studied how to better communicate all of a storm’s threats. Looking at the forecasts of up to 30 inches of rain in isolated locations between Savannah and Charleston, Collins said she’s very concerned about the likelihood of “catastrophic flooding." Read more here.

Debby tracker

Spaghetti models

Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest performing models to help make its forecasts.

When is the Atlantic hurricane season the most active?

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. The peak of the season is Sept. 10, and the most activity usually happens between mid-August and mid-October, according to the hurricane center.

After Hurricane Beryl's deadly rampage in July, forecasters from Colorado State University raised their already record hurricane forecast. They now expect an additional hurricane (a total of 12 for the season) and two more named storms (25 for the season).

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Debby updates: Deadly storm slams Florida with rain, powerful winds