By Ken Jackson

Staff Writer

While Tropical Storm Debby has been little more than a nuisance to local residents with its drenching downpours Sunday, impromptu severe storm cells Monday and blustery winds Tuesday, it provided public works and local emergency operations officials a practical dress rehearsal for hurricane season.

Thanks to the fickle and slow-moving storm, which began its meandering path through the Gulf of Mexico Saturday and was forecasted to finally exit into the Atlantic Ocean today, parts of Osceola County saw rainfall totals upward of five inches for the period, according to the National Weather Service office in Melbourne.

A tornado watch was in effect for most of Central Florida nearly all day Monday. The Florida Highway Patrol reported damage to a Florida’s Turnpike toll plaza at Yeehaw Junction, and St. Cloud Fire Rescue Chief Bill Johnston also reported evidence of a tornado touchdown early Monday morning along the new stretch of Nolte Road between Michigan Avenue and Old Hickory Tree Road. Damage was confined to small trees, although some St. Cloud residents reported other minor storm-related damage to homes and structures.

The rain was mostly replaced Tuesday by winds, as a lake wind advisory was in effect much of the day. A South Florida Water Management District reporting site measured a 41 mph gust around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, and a weather station in the Indian Wells subdivision of Kissimmee measured a handful of breezes over 25 mph.

With flooding will be the area’s main concern from Debby as it made its painstakingly-long trip across the state from Cedar Key to St. Augustine, area locks, ponds and storm drains did their job.

Street flooding was confined to small amounts of ponding, and according to Rich Collins, the Osceola County’s new director of Emergency Services, no roads were closed due to standing water. The county’s emergency operations responses have been at partial activation during the week.

“We’ve gotten reports of some culverts overflowing, but for the most part the water’s running off fine,” Collins said. “Our biggest concern (was) the increased tornado risk  and making people aware of the threat and the possible effects.

“We had a hurricane exercise in May and got good information from it,” Collins said. “It’s a matter of honing the process down, and we’ve got a great team in the county to deal with these.”

In St. Cloud, Johnston reported no flooding.

“We are pre-staging pumps in a couple of our subdivisions to make sure we maintain adequate storm water run-off capacity,” he said Monday.

Debby may have even been a blessing for Kissimmee Utility Authority and its crews. Spokesman Chris Gent said Monday that aside from a blown fuse that knocked out power for a short time Sunday morning to a few houses and businesses, service was never interrupted, even when a severe cell blew through the area shortly before noon on Monday.

“It was a chance to make sure all essential operations are ready for hurricane season,” he said.

In the event that rains continue, drivers are reminded to avoid driving in flooding areas where the depth of water is unknown, and not to try to immediately restart a stalled car in flood waters, as the engine could be damaged.  

Debby did expose a critical need in the donation supply by Florida’s Blood Centers, which must keep local hospitals supplied during and after a major storm. All blood types are needed, especially O negative, and the agency strongly urged residents to donate as soon as possible.