Tropical Storm Debby began weakening Monday in the Gulf of Mexico but not enough to spare an already soaked Central Florida several more days of rain.
The National Hurricane Center shifted Debby’s path yet again, steering the slow-moving storm across Florida’s Big Bend area and North Florida later this week. Over the next week, forecasters said it could dump from 10 to 20 more inches of rain over the area.
On the positive side, Debby was disorganized and growing weaker. Dry air was swirling into the core and wind shear shredded its rotating storm bands. Debby had been stalled so long that it was also churning up cooler ocean waters, further sapping its power.
“You put those three together and this thing is not going to strengthen any further,’’ said Dennis Feltgen, spokesman for the hurricane center in West Miami-Dade.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for Florida’s Gulf coast from Destin to Englewood.
The storm, about 75 miles south of Apalachicola, was crawling northeast at 3 mph.
The National Weather Service put much of Central Florida north of Lake Okeechobee under a tornado watch until at least 2 p.m.
The service’s Melbourne office reported that Debby had generated at least five twisters on Sunday in Hardee, Highlands, Polk and Pinellas counties. One woman was killed in Highlands when a tornado destroyed her home.
High winds also temporarily closed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge between Tampa and St. Petersburg on Sunday.