Debby Downgraded to Tropical Storm

Aug. 24 -- Though Hurricane Debby was downgraded to a tropical storm, visitors to the Florida Keys Wednesday were ordered to leave as officials braced for the possibility of the storm’s arrival.

Hurricane Debby is now Tropical Storm Debby, with winds just under the 74 mph minimum to be a hurricane. A ridge of high pressure forced Debby to the south, where the storm has starved, blocked from open water by the mountains of Hispaniola, said Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

But Debby could become a hurricane again when it hits the straits between Hispaniola — the island where Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located — and Cuba sometime tonight, he warned. With Debby still miles and days away, Monroe County, which encompasses the Keys island chain, declared a state of emergency. “ I don’t want people to let down their guard, because it still has a good chance to come back and regain hurricane status,” Mayfield said. “ We are forecasting it to be very near south Florida and the Keys within three days’ time.”

By midday, the storm was just north of the Dominican Republic, moving west-northwest at 16 mph with 70 mph winds.

Computer models have sent mixed signals about whether the storm will strengthen and about where it will go — up through Florida or out into the Gulf of Mexico, Mayfield said.

Hurricane warnings were posted for the Turks and Caicos, the southeastern Bahamas and the north coast of the Dominican Republic. A hurricane watch was in effect for the rest of the Bahamas and northern Haiti. Cuba posted a hurricane watch for its northeast coast and was expected to extend it westward.

Ghost of Hurricane Andrew

Miami has so far seen only a few light showers, but residents who remember the devastation of Hurricane Andrew eight years ago are taking this weaker storm seriously.

“It’s good to be prepared because even if the hurricane doesn’t hit, we may still get blackouts,” said Clara Milanes, 64, who bought a battery-powered light and candles at a Miami-area Wal-Mart.