Tropical Storm Debby made landfall in Steinhatchee this week back in 2012, bringing tornadoes, surge and heavy rain to Florida.
Tropical Storm Debby developed in the north-central Gulf of Mexico on the morning of June 23, 2012. Its movement was very slow, and initial forecasts by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) brought Debby west into Texas.
However, the two popular weather models were at odds with each other. The American model (GFS) brought Debby into Florida, while the European model (ECMWF) brought it into Texas.
The NHC originally sided with the European model with a forecast track toward Texas. However, it became apparent after a couple of days that it would make landfall in Florida.
Debby’s winds peaked at 65 mph in the Gulf, but weakened to 40 mph at landfall.
On June 26, Debby made landfall in Steinhatchee, Fla. around 5 p.m.
Tropical Storm Debby making landfall on June 26, 2012. (NOAA)
Tornado outbreak
Days before landfall, the outer bands of Debby produced 25 tornadoes across Florida.
Pinellas County reported two tornadoes, Hillsborough County reported one, Polk County reported two, Pasco County reported one and Citrus County reported one.
Radar-indicated circulations and tornadoes associated with Tropical Storm Debby on Sunday, June 24, 2012. (NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center)
The strongest tornado was in Polk County, where an EF-2 tornado ripped through an area just east of Winter Haven. It damaged 17 homes, several mobile homes and a business, injuring one person.
Unfortunately, one person died in a tornado in Highlands County.
Rainfall and storm surge
Since Debby was a slow-moving storm, rainfall was one of the biggest impacts. Nearly 29 inches of rain fell in parts of north Florida.
The Tampa Bay area received approximately 8 to 15 inches. Hernando County received the most with 15.53 inches in Spring Hill.
Observed rainfall from Debby. (NOAA)
While Debby’s winds weren’t too impressive in terms of speed, they were persistent.
The steady onshore wind brought 4 to 4.5 feet of storm surge from Tampa Bay to Cedar Key. Bayshore Boulevard was flooded for three days due to the surge.
Some beach front hotels were flooded with ankle deep water in Pinellas County.
Coastal dunes suffered significant erosion in Pinellas and Manatee counties due to the storm surge.
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