AccuWeather Track and Wind Forecasts for Hurricane Debby Earlier and More Accurate than Any Other Known Source
Hurricane Debby, the second hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, brought damaging winds and storm surge to the northern Gulf Coast of Florida.
>>Learn more about AccuWeather For Business
AccuWeather estimates Hurricane Debby to have caused $28 billion dollars in damage and economic loss. Jon Porter says severe flooding and loss of business in tourist areas were contributing factors.
AccuWeather's track and intensity forecasts for Debby were more accurate than any other known source.
Hurricane Debby, the second hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, brought damaging winds and storm surge to the northern Gulf Coast of Florida. In addition, Debby produced major flooding, which resulted in severe damage to some communities from the southeast United States to southeast Canada. On Aug. 1, AccuWeather issued a track and intensity forecast 18 hours BEFORE the National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued its first track and intensity forecast. AccuWeather customers once again exclusively benefited from this extra advance notice to make the best decisions to prepare for the storm’s impacts. When analyzed for the entire lifespan of Debby, AccuWeather's track and intensity forecasts for Debby were more accurate than any other known source and were 6.5% and 8.5% more accurate than the NHC, respectively.
• AccuWeather's first forecast track was issued on Aug. 1 when an area of rain and thunderstorms over the northern Caribbean had not yet developed into an organized tropical storm. This exclusive track forecast provided 18 hours of additional advanced notice ahead of the NHC and all other known sources. Recognizing the potential impacts to lives and property, AccuWeather began referring to this as a tropical rainstorm and correctly predicted it would intensify and impact Cuba on Aug. 2, the Florida Keys on Aug. 3, and western and northern Florida along with the southeastern U.S. between Aug. 4-6. This additional day of valuable advance notice exclusively provided AccuWeather customers with more time to best prepare for and react to the risks posed by Debby.
• As a result of AccuWeather exclusively issuing seven-day track and intensity forecasts and initiating forecasts well in advance of the NHC’s five-day track and intensity forecasts, AccuWeather provided on average 43 hours more advance notice on the forecast location and intensity of Debby than the NHC and all other known sources.
• AccuWeather’s track forecast for the storm averaged 6.5% greater accuracy as compared to the NHC.
• AccuWeather’s forecast of the storm’s winds was 8.5% more accurate as compared to the NHC.
• AccuWeather’s average northern Florida landfall point and wind speed forecast were 18% and 6% more accurate, respectively, than the NHC's.
• On Aug. 3, AccuWeather’s expert hurricane forecasters correctly forecast Debby to make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane along the northern Gulf Coast of Florida the morning of Aug. 5. This was seven hours BEFORE the NHC and any other known source. The additional seven hours of advance notice exclusively provided AccuWeather customers with more time to best prepare for Debby’s risks and impacts.
• AccuWeather’s expert hurricane forecasters issued exclusive AccuWeather Alerts™ for Tropical Storm Threat for Florida and its exclusive AccuWeather Alerts™ for Tropical Storm Potential for the coasts of South Carolina and North Carolina during the evening of August 1. This was 14 hours BEFORE the NHC issued Tropical Storm Watches and Tropical Storm Warnings for Florida, 60 hours BEFORE the NHC issued a Tropical Storm Watch for South Carolina, and 92 hours BEFORE the NHC issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the southern coast of North Carolina. In addition, AccuWeather’s expert hurricane forecasters issued exclusive AccuWeather Alerts™ for Tropical Rainstorm Potential for the interior Northeast U.S. region nearly 17 hours BEFORE the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a Flood Watch for the same region AccuWeather had earlier alerted.
More than 100 times every year, AccuWeather has been documented as providing more accurate, more advance notification of significant and extreme weather events that impact businesses and threaten the health, welfare, and lives of individuals. AccuWeather is proven to be the most accurate source of weather forecasts and warnings.
These are additional examples of the many weather events for which AccuWeather provided superior forecasts and impact descriptions to people, communities, and businesses, helping them better prepare and stay safe.
Last month, Hurricane Beryl, the first major hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, brought destructive winds, flooding, and storm surge to the Windward Islands, Jamaica, the Yucatan Peninsula, and southeast Texas. AccuWeather's team of Expert Meteorologists and Hurricane Experts led the way by forecasting that Beryl would become a Category 3 hurricane before other known sources even considered it a tropical storm.
AccuWeather was the ONLY SOURCE to issue a forecast track for the storm on Thursday, June 27 - 28 hours BEFORE the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and all other known sources issued their first track. AccuWeather customers once again exclusively benefited from this extra advance notice to make the best decisions to prepare for the storm's impacts.
