Tropical Storm Debby moving through Gulf toward Florida with hurricane warnings

MIAMI (AP) — A tropical depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Debby north of Cuba on Saturday and was predicted to become a hurricane as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico on a collision course with the Florida coast.

The National Hurricane Center said in an update posted at 5 a.m. Sunday that Debby was located about 195 miles (315 kilometers) south-southwest of Tampa, Florida, and about 255 miles (410 kilometers) south-southwest of Cedar Key, Florida. The storm was moving north-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph).

The storm was strengthening over the southeastern Gulf and expected to be a hurricane before making landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida, the hurricane center said.

Wind and thunderstorms have spread over a broad area including southern Florida, the Florida Keys and the Bahamas. A hurricane warning and tropical storm warnings were in effect for sections of Florida’s coast and a tropical storm watch was added for coastal Georgia in the latest advisory.

Debby is likely to bring drenching rain and coastal flooding to much of Florida’s Gulf Coast by Sunday night and predictions show the system could come ashore as a hurricane Monday and cross over northern Florida into the Atlantic Ocean.