North Florida, Big Bend on alert as tropical depression strengthens

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North Florida, Big Bend on alert as tropical depression strengthens

The National Hurricane Center put the Big Bend and parts of North Florida under a Hurricane Watch Saturday morning as a strengthening tropical depression sets its sights on the Gulf of Mexico and becoming Tropical Storm Debby.

Forecasters hoisted the watch and Tropical Storm Warnings for the Florida peninsula after models and the storm’s track nudged westward meaning the storm could spend more time over the superheated Gulf of Mexico and have more time to intensify during its collision course with the Florida coast.

The expanded threat comes hours after Gov. Ron DeSantis mobilized the National Guard and extended the state of emergency from 54 to 61 of Florida’s 67 counties.

Here are the latest updates.

Storm could impact communities still in recovery

The storm’s final landfall destination could impact north Florida communities still recovering from Hurricane Idalia, which became the heaviest U.S. ***** of the 2023 hurricane season.

Tallahassee, which was bracing for a direct hit from Hurricane Idalia, managed to escape widespread destruction as the hurricane wobbled east before slamming into the Taylor County coast.

Idalia, which briefly became a major Category 4 hurricane, made landfall around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, near Keaton Beach, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. It marked the first hit from a major hurricane to the Apalachee Bay coastline since weather record-keeping began in 1851.

While Tallahassee dodged Idalia, a wide swatch of Florida’s capital city is still rebuilding after a rare May tornado outbreak ******* two people, shredded the power grid and toppled trees onto homes. The Florida Emergency Management Agency ******** on the ground in Tallahassee with an Aug. 19 deadline for homeowners and residents to seek assistance.

Track’s shift west ups chances that region could see a hurricane

The westward shift ratchets up the odds that the storm could ultimately become a low-end hurricane. WeatherTiger meteorologist Ryan Truchelut, who does regular hurricane season forecasts for the USA TODAY NETWORK, warned Friday afternoon that such a scenario remained on the table.

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The 5 a.m. track for the tropical depression expected to become Tropical Storm Debby puts the Big Bend and parts of North Florida under a Hurricane Watch.

“Two days over the Gulf is enough to cause advanced mischief, and North Florida should be on alert at this point for a hurricane threat early next week,” Truchelut warned. “I’m not saying a hurricane will hit North Florida, but a farther west track with more strengthening is well within the realm of the possible.”

The storm is expected to cross Cuba and rake the Florida peninsula as it heads north toward an expected landfall along the Nature Coast or Big Bend. Tallahassee, Florida’s capital city, ******** well within the cone of what would be Florida’s first storm strike of a widely expected violent 2024 hurricane season.

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shows the cyclone becoming a tropical storm by tonight, “with additional strengthening expected while it moves across deep warm waters in a weak shear environment.”

“The regional hurricane models and statistical guidance continue to indicate some potential for the system to reach hurricane strength before it makes landfall in the Florida Big Bend region,” a forecaster wrote in the 5 a.m. discussion. While the latest forecast “does not explicitly show the cyclone becoming a hurricane,” the NHC noted that additional strengthening could occur as the storm nears landfall.

Already forecasters have warned that coastal communities should be prepared for “life-threatening inundation from storm surge.” Impacts from storm surge, strong winds, and heavy rains are also likely. The storm could drench the state with up to a foot of rain in some areas, according to the 

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat:

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