DOUBLE RED FLAG CONDITIONS: WATER IS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC....
SURF ZONE FORECAST:
WAVE HEIGHTS: 4-5 feet.
RIP CURRENT DEVELOPMENT PROBABILITY AND RIP CURRENT STRENGTH: very high...a very high risk of life threatening rip currents means that wind, wave and tidal conditions all support the development of extremely strong and dangerous rip currents. Water is closed to the public.
For current Santa Rosa Beach weather conditions and our live beach cam please visit http://www.swfd.org/weather.php
[SIZE=+1]Current Status[/SIZE]Tropical Storm Debby has moved very little since its formation in the eastern Gulf of Mexico late Saturday. Locally heavy rain and possible flooding will impact portions of the eastern Gulf Coast and Florida into Monday. Isolated tornadoes cannot be rule out from southern and western Florida to coastal Mississippi and Alabama.Tropical storm warnings
have been issued for parts of the Louisiana, Alabama and Florida Gulf Coasts. Tropical-storm force winds (40 mph or higher) are possible there Sunday into early Monday. Power outages were reported on St. George Island, Fla. early Sunday morning from Debby's outer bands.
[SIZE=+1]Track Forecast Uncertain
[/SIZE]Debby is forecast to drift only very slowly north through Sunday, then is expected to turn toward the northwest or west. That said, the track forecast remains VERY uncertain and we cannot rule out a track towards the east or northeast in the direction of Florida.(MORE: Debby forecast track scenarios)Residents from the Florida Gulf Coast to Texas need to monitor closely the progress of Debby.For more in-depth analysis on Debby and its future track possibilities, click here to view our full Tropical Update article.
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Rip Currents, Coastal Flooding
[/SIZE]As indicated by the tropical storm warnings mentioned above, Debby's circulation is embedded in a rather large wind field. This persistent wind field has also raised the threat of rip currents and coastal flooding well to the east and north of the center. (MORE: Beach threats)
Incidentally, Debby has become the record earliest-in-season 4th named Atlantic named storm, leapfrogging Dennis from July 5, 2005. In an average year, the 4th named storm would have occurred by August 23. So, in terms of named storm counts, we're roughly two months ahead of the pace. That said, there is no correlation between a fast start to the season and the degree of activity of the rest of the season.