JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Hurricane Debby’s eastern eyewall hit Dixie County on Monday morning, bringing gusts to 95 mph at Horseshoe Beach as the storm made landfall near Steinhatchee around 7 a.m.
As of the 8 a.m. National Hurricane Center update, the storm’s maximum sustained winds had dropped to 75 mph and it will continue to weaken as it moves inland.
Debby is moving toward the north-northeast near 10 mph and is expected to slow and turn northeast, meandering across North Florida and Southeast Georgia later Monday, with the hurricane center saying it could produce “catastrophic flooding in some locations.”
Locally winds may briefly gust to 40-50 mph in rainbands this afternoon. Heavy rain is the bigger threat over the next couple of days.
A Flash Flood Warning is in effect for Columbia County until noon Monday. A flash flood at 5:23 a.m. closed State Road 26 at the Gilchrist/Alachua County line.
Debby, potentially a historic rainmaker, started pounding the Gulf Coast on Sunday, and more than 150,000 utility customers were without power Monday morning, including more than 25,000 Duke Energy Florida customers in the Tampa Bay region.
Press play above to view the live radar
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 25 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles. A wind gust of 62 mph was reported at Madison County High School within the last hour. The estimated minimum central pressure is 979 mb.
A Tornado Watch until Monday at 4 p.m. has been issued for all Northeast Florida counties, while a Tropical Storm Watch remains in effect for Southeast Georgia and our western counties of Northeast Florida. Thunderstorms are starting to pop up in our southern counties, as well.
If the current path holds, the biggest impact for Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia will be Monday and early Tuesday morning.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for all Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia counties until further notice.
Coastal Camden and Glynn counties are under a Storm Surge Warning, and Baker, Bradford, Columbia, Union, Charlton and Ware counties are under a Flood Warning until 1:15 p.m.
MORE | Gov. DeSantis activates Florida State Guard, urges residents to prepare ahead of expected tropical storm | St. Johns County prepares for potential tropical cyclone heads toward Florida
The main hazards will be bands of showers, thunderstorms, and windy conditions with gusts up to 40-50 mph. An isolated tornado is certainly possible given the conditions.
READ | Watches? Warnings? What do all the tropical alerts really mean?
Watches and Warnings in effect:
Hurricane Warning: In effect for the Florida Gulf Coast from Yankeetown to Indian Pass
Tropical Storm Warning: In effect for the Florida coast south of Yankeetown to Boca Grande, west of Indian Pass to Mexico Beach and from St. Augustine to South Santee River South Carolina
Storm Surge Warning: In effect for the Florida coast from the middle of Longboat Key northward to Indian Pass, including Tampa Bay; and for the Georgia and South Carolina coasts from the Mouth of the St. Marys River to South Santee River South Carolina