NEW ORLEANS — Parts of Florida and Alabama were under a tropical-storm warning Sunday as Debby churned off the Gulf Coast, leaving wary residents to closely watch a storm whose path has been difficult to forecast.
Debby has dumped heavy rain on parts of Florida and spawned some isolated tornadoes. High winds forced the closure of an interstate bridge that spans Tampa Bay and links St. Petersburg with areas to the southeast. Storm tracks are difficult to predict days in advance. But as of late Sunday, the latest forecast map showed the center of the storm 100 miles south-southwest of Apalachicola, Fla., and likely to meander north for several days before making landfall.
Chris Landsea, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center, said
every storm is different and has different characteristics. “In this case, it’s a very unpredictable storm,” he said, adding that Debby could become a hurricane.
Parts of Florida and southeast Georgia could receive 10 to 15 inches of rain, with some areas getting as much as 20, he said. The Associated Press
