Debby to flood Florida

Baltimore, MD - The main weather story has been the development on tropical storm Debby.  Debby developed over the central Gulf of Mexico Saturday bringing heavy rain, winds, and even tornadoes to Florida.  The storm is forecasted to slowly drift north before moving north east over the panhandle of Florida.  

Our ABC2 forecast models show Debby dumping as much as a foot of rain by tomorrow with additional rain expected Tuesday and Wednesday.  There is a brief window where Debby could become a minimal hurricane with winds averaging 74 mph.  Landfall is expected late Wednesday morning or early afternoon.

The development of Debby Saturday night made it the 4TH named tropical storm to develop before July 1st.  This is a brand new record for the National Hurricane Center.  Never before have four named systems develop before July 1st.  

The forecast for the hurricane season of 2012 was expected to be less active due to a strengthening EL nino over the central Pacific.  However, El Nino conditions have been slow to develop allowing for lighter wind shear over the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico.

You can follow the latest on Debby by checking out our exclusive HURRICANE CENTER:  http://www.abc2news.com/subindex/weather/hurricane

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