Tropical Storm Debby formed Saturday afternoon in the central Gulf of Mexico, but its destination remained somewhat uncertain.
The National Hurricane Center’s official forecast track had the storm, packing 50 mph winds, drifting north until veering west toward Texas sometime Monday. But some models steered east toward the Florida coast north of Tampa.
Either way, Debby was trailing a long tail of thunderstorms expected to bring drenching rains along the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana. Forecasters placed a large swath of coastal Louisiana under a tropical storm warning but with the core of the storm expected to remain offshore, the city of New Orleans was not included.
At 5 p.m., Debby was about 220 miles south-southeast of the Mississippi River, and was expected to remain over the open Gulf for several days, which could give it time to grow into a more powerful storm before it makes landfall. On the current track, forecasters said Debby could be off the southern Texas coast Thursday afternoon but they cautioned the storm could pick up speed once it turns west.
Though many experts had predicted a normal hurricane season, it has gotten off to a historically fast start. Debby is the earliest fourth storm on record, the center reported, surpassing Hurricane Dennis, which became the fourth storm of 2005 on July 5.
The National Hurricane Center’s official forecast track had the storm, packing 50 mph winds, drifting north until veering west toward Texas sometime Monday. But some models steered east toward the Florida coast north of Tampa.
Either way, Debby was trailing a long tail of thunderstorms expected to bring drenching rains along the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana. Forecasters placed a large swath of coastal Louisiana under a tropical storm warning but with the core of the storm expected to remain offshore, the city of New Orleans was not included.
At 5 p.m., Debby was about 220 miles south-southeast of the Mississippi River, and was expected to remain over the open Gulf for several days, which could give it time to grow into a more powerful storm before it makes landfall. On the current track, forecasters said Debby could be off the southern Texas coast Thursday afternoon but they cautioned the storm could pick up speed once it turns west.
Though many experts had predicted a normal hurricane season, it has gotten off to a historically fast start. Debby is the earliest fourth storm on record, the center reported, surpassing Hurricane Dennis, which became the fourth storm of 2005 on July 5.