As the fourth named system of the season moved toward the Florida Gulf Coast, where it was predicted to make landfall as a hurricane late Sunday or early Monday, Tropical Storm Debby began to strengthen early on Sunday.

Driven by the Gulf’s warm waters, Debby was heading north and is expected to pivot northward later on Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The hurricane agency stated that when the storm hits Florida’s Big Bend Coast, it will bring strong storm surges and devastating rainfall. On Monday and Tuesday, Debby is predicted to travel slowly across southern Georgia and northern Florida.

“This situation poses a serious risk to human life,” the hurricane center cautioned.

At 5 a.m. ET on Sunday, Debby, which formed on Saturday, was still moving at 50 mph with even worse gusts.

The National Weather Service has issued a hurricane warning for the Big Bend region. This alert extends westward to the Ochlockonee River along the Gulf Coast.

The hurricane center also issued a storm surge warning for the central Gulf Coast, which includes the region from the Aucilla River to Indian Pass. The warning states that peak surges could reach heights of 4 to 7 feet in certain places.

According to the weather agency, Debby is predicted to generate significant flash floods over a large portion of the Southeast United States through Thursday. Maximum rainfall totals of up to 18 inches are possible, with rainfall totals of 6 to 12 inches predicted.

Through the middle of the week, forecasters warned of the possibility of storm surge, severe winds, and heavy rainfall throughout Florida and the southeast coast of the United States, extending from Georgia to North Carolina.

During the course of the week, Debby moved westward as a tropical downpour, forming in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. It dumped a lot of rain on parts of the Bahamas and Hispaniola, resulting in flooding in Puerto Rico.

Tropical Storm Debby is expected to occur during the hottest Atlantic hurricane season on record in 2024, according to researchers.

Tracker for Tropical Storm Debby: Where could Tropical Storm Debby landfall?
A variety of forecasting tools and models are used in the illustrations, and not all of them are equal. To aid in its forecasting, the hurricane center only employs the best four or five performing models.

The Atlantic hurricane season begins when?
Hurricane season in the Atlantic occurs from June 1 to November 30.

According to the Hurricane Center, the season peaks on September 10 and is most active between mid-August and mid-October.

Contributors include Kim Luciani and Cheryl McCloud from USA TODAY Network-Florida; Gabe Hauari, Doyle Rice, Anthony Robledo, and Jeanine Santucci from USA TODAY.

Tropical Storm was the first publication of this article on USA TODAY. Track Debby: View the course of the storm and spaghetti models