page_title: Tropical Storm Debby (2012)
section_title: North Florida and Panhandle
hierarchical_section_title: Tropical Storm Debby (2012) / Impact / Florida / North Florida and Panhandle
caption_attribution_description: English: Storm total rainfall map of Tropical Storm Debby during June 2012.
context_page_description: Tropical Storm Debby caused extensive flooding in North Florida and Central Florida during late June 2012. The fourth tropical cyclone and named storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, Debby developed from a trough of low pressure in the central Gulf of Mexico on June 23. The formation of Debby marked the earliest formation on record of the fourth named storm within the Atlantic basin until this record was beaten by Tropical Storm Danielle in 2016. Despite a projected track toward landfall in Louisiana or Texas, the storm headed the opposite direction, moving slowly north-northeast and northeastward. The storm slowly strengthened, and at 1800 UTC on June 25, attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. Dry air, westerly wind shear, and upwelling of cold waters prevented further intensification over the next 24 hours. Instead, Debby weakened, and by late on June 26, it was a minimal tropical storm. At 2100 UTC, the storm made landfall near Steinhatchee, Florida with winds of 40 mph. Once inland, the system continued to weaken while crossing Florida, and dissipated shortly after emerging into the Atlantic on June 27.
context_section_description: Throughout June 25, an intense complex of thunderstorms developed to the north of Debby's center and produced torrential rains over the Florida Panhandle for much of the day. Many areas received rainfall in excess of 15 inches (380 mm). Precipitation peaked at 28.78 inches (731 mm) in Curtis Mill, which is located in Wakulla County. In Panacea, a Mesonet station recorded a 24‑hour rainfall of 20.63 inches (524 mm). Rainfall caused numerous small creeks, streams, and rivers to rapidly exceed their banks and flood adjacent communities. The Sopchoppy River crested at 36.8 feet (11.2 m), which was a record height. Numerous homes were flooded, some up to the second story. Two bridges were damaged, and numerous roads around the county were washed out or closed. Over 400 structures were affected by flooding, including more than 170 mobile homes and nearly 200 single-family residences. Of these structures, 40 were destroyed, 61 had major flood damage, 41 suffered minor flood damage, and 271 were affected by flooding. Additionally, coastal flooding impacted the county, with a storm surge of 4 feet (1.2 m) and tides up 6.5 feet (2.0 m) in St. Marks. Numerous roads were underwater and several area businesses received water intrusion in that city. U.S. Route 98 was over-washed just north of St. Marks. As a result, mandatory evacuations were ordered south of U.S. Route 98 and around the Sopchoppy River. In total, 67 people required rescuing. Losses throughout the county were assessed at $9.09 million.
  The storm also produced adverse effects in Franklin County. In Apalachicola, a gust of 65 mph (105 km/h) was observed as well as 6.03 inches (153 mm) of rainfall on June 24, resulting in widespread flash flooding. The John Gorrie Memorial Bridge connecting Apalachicola to Eastpoint was closed on June 24 due to high winds. A wind gust of 66 mph (106 km/h) was reported at the Apalachicola Regional Airport. The St. George Island Bridge, a 4 miles (6.4 km) bridge connecting Eastpoint to St. George Island over the Apalachicola Bay, was also closed on June 24 due to high winds. The bridge was opened later that day as both St. George Island and Alligator Point were put under a mandatory evacuation, requiring all people to leave immediately, and those remaining on the islands subject to arrest. St. George Island, a popular resort community and tourist destination, lost all power on June 24 due to high winds destroying three power poles in the Apalachicola Bay; a Progress Energy spokesperson stated that it could be days before power was restored because the conditions are too unsafe for workers. In Bay County, moderate beach erosion occurred, with a storm surge reaching 1.5 feet (0.46 m) and storm tide of 2.42 feet (0.74 m) in Panama City. Flooding forced the closure of a few roads in Jefferson County, including U.S. Route 27 west of U.S. Route 19.
  In Madison County, one house was surrounded by in overflowing retention pond near the city of Madison. State Road 51 in Lafayette County flooded, caused by the Steinhatchee River exceeding its banks. In Dixie County, several roads north of Cross City experienced flooding, while water entered at least 40 homes along the Steinhatchee River. Moderate coastal flooding occurred in Horseshoe Beach, due to an estimated storm surge of 4 feet (1.2 m), with tides reaching 7 feet (2.1 m) above normal. Water entered several homes near the coast and surrounded outbuildings by up to 1.5 feet (0.46 m). In Columbia County, preliminary losses were placed in excess of $20 million as of July 3 and did not take into account hundreds of homes that remained flooded at the time. Several bridges were washed out due to the heavy rain; both U.S. Route 319 and U.S. Route 98 were closed due to flooding. In Suwannee County, the Suwannee River at Live Oak reached its highest crest since Hurricane Dora in 1964. Gainesville received its second-highest daily rain total of 6.95 inches (177 mm) on June 24. In Marion County, up to 10.25 inches (260 mm) of rain was reported near Fellowship. As a result, State Road 40 was closed due to hi
caption: Storm total rainfall from Debby in the United States
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