Friday, August 8, 2024 Update:

Remants of Hurricane Debby continue to drench the East Coast. The storm originally made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend coastal area just after 11:00 PM on Sunday, August 4, as a Category 1, near Steinhatchee, Florida, just 9 miles southeast of where Category 3 Idalia made landfall on August 30, 2023.

The hurricane was downgraded the following day to a tropical storm and National Hurricane Center forecasters reported that sustained winds were 74 miles per hour (MPH), and the storm was moving north and east at 10 MPH.

The amateur radio station at the National Hurricane Center, WX4NHC, the Hurricane Watch Net, and the VoIP Hurricane Net were activated as Debby slowly traversed the Southeast US and dumped potentially catastrophic rainfall over widespread parts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. On Monday morning, August 5, nearly 248,000 homes and business customers were without electricity.

Scott Roberts, KK4ECR, ARRL Northern Florida Section Manager, reported that Clay County Emergency Services (ARES®) was also active. Arc J. Thames, W4CPD, Northern Florida Section Emergency Coordinator, reported that Alachua County and Franklin County ARES were also activated.

Thames reported an amateur radio operator was stranded due to high water in Suwannee County. He used the statewide repeater network, SARNET, to relay the information and a monitoring operator in Jacksonville was able to coordinate with an urban search-and-rescue (USAR) team with an embedded ham radio operator and was able to facilitate the rescue of a family.

Rick Palm, K1CE, editor of the ARRL ARES Letter, was at his home in Fort White, Florida, when the storm hit.

“It was another wild ride, with huge trees down and river levels rising fast,” Palm reported. “For two days, lots of heavy machinery rolled into our neighborhood to saw up downed trees and restore power.”

Palm also reported to the town shelter and worked with Darren DeMarino, KO4DLN, and had contact with Brad Swartz, N5CBP, who is the Emergency Coordinator stationed at the EOC radio room. He managed to send a “Field Situation Report” via Winlink to the EOC in Lake City. Palm said he was a little rusty but got the form to go through.

The Five Flags Amateur Radio Association, W4UC, located in Pensacola, Florida, was asked by state officials to serve as HF backup for the SARNET system even though they were outside the warned area.

Monday, August 5, 2024 AM Update:

Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend coastal area just after 11:00 PM on Sunday night as a Category 1 Hurricane, near Steinhatchee, Florida, just 9 miles southeast of where Category 3 Idalia made landfall on August 30, 2023. 

Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) nets have been activated and will continue to monitor the situation. The amateur radio station at the National Hurricane Center, WX4NHC is active on the with The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) frequency of 14.325 MHz and is working with the VoIP Hurricane Net. via IRLP node 9219 / EchoLink WX-TALK Conference node 7203. Surface reports may also be filed via Winlink or online form. 

The National Hurricane Center reports that sustained winds are 75 miles per hour (MPH), and the hurricane is moving north and east at 10 MPH. The center of the storm  is expected to move slowly across northern Florida and southern Georgia today and Tuesday, and be near the Georgia coast by Tuesday Forecasts show Debby will slowly traverse over the Southeast US and dump potentially catastrophic rainfall over widespread parts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

Heavy rain is expected to move up the Atlantic Coast as the storm continues Forecasts show Debby will slowly traverse over the Southeast US and dump potentially catastrophic rainfall over widespread parts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. As of Monday morning, at 8:00, nearly 248,000 homes and businesses customers are without electricity.

President Biden issued an emergency declaration late Sunday and Florida declared a state of emergency for 61 of Florida's 67 counties, with the National Guard activating 3,000 members. 

At 800 AM EDT (1200 UTC), the center of Hurricane Debby was located near latitude 29.9 North, longitude 83.4 West. Debby is moving toward the north-northeast near 10 mph (17 km/h). A gradual decrease in forward speed with a turn toward the northeast and east is expected later today and Tuesday. On the forecast track, the center will slowly across northern Florida and southern Georgia today and Tuesday and be near the Georgia coast by Tuesday night. 

Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 75 mph (120 km/h) with higher gusts. Additional weakening is expected as Debby moves over land today and tonight. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 25 miles (35 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140.

This story will be updated with further information.