Debby, now a Category 1 hurricane, makes landfall in Florida : NPR

Hurricane Debby’s center made landfall near Steinhatchee, Fla., at around 7 a.m. ET Monday, bringing not only sustained winds of 80 mph but also a dire threat of flooding to the Gulf Coast and beyond, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“This potentially historic rainfall will likely result in areas of catastrophic flooding,” the NHC said in a morning advisory note, warning of heavy rainfall from southeast Georgia through South Carolina and up to southeast North Carolina.

Debby came ashore about five miles west of Steinhatchee, which sits along the state’s Big Bend region — where Florida’s panhandle and peninsula meet. As of 7 a.m., the storm’s center was about 70 miles southeast of Tallahassee.

The hurricane was moving north-northeast at 10 mph as it made landfall.

The NHC upgraded Debby to a Category 1 hurricane late Sunday night; just two days earlier it had been identified as a “disturbance” over eastern Cuba with the potential to develop into a tropical storm.

The storm quickly strengthened as it moved over the warm waters of the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Warmer ocean temperatures and higher sea levels driven by climate change are making hurricanes and tropical storms more intense, leading to heavier rainfall and more extreme flooding.

Forecasters warn of a potentially deadly storm surge in Florida. And with Debby expected to move slowly over land, it will also drop heavy rain and likely trigger both urban and river flooding in the southeastern U.S.

Watches and warnings were issued for hurricane conditions and tropical storm conditions and storm surges, which were expected to range from 2 to 10 feet in Florida’s Big Bend region, from near Tallahassee down to about Tampa.

Rainfall amounts could reach between 6 and 18 inches in pockets of central and northern Florida, up to North Carolina through Saturday morning.

Debby is expected to move through Georgia and South Carolina after leaving Florida. Areas in those states could receive at least 10 inches of rain — up to a record 30 inches through Friday morning.

Tornadoes are also possible in parts of Florida, as well as southern Georgia on Monday.