JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Meet the scientists and meteorologists at the National Weather Service who are tracking Tropical Storm Debby.
As of late Sunday, it was still unclear where Debby would head.
Despite an uncertain forecast, the NWS was working to predict the storm's next move.
"We definitely have upped our staffing in anticipation for this event. While we're certainly not seeing much of anything in terms of strong winds in northeast Florida, we are seeing rain moving up and this is the beginning of what could be a protracted heavy rain event for a good portion of North Florida," said Steve Letro with the NWS.
Some forecast models had Debby heading towards Texas. Others sent her to Alabama, but Letro said Florida will likely take the brunt of the storm.
"Anytime you have early season storms, we wind up with interesting forecast problems because the tropics are not really set up the way they are in August or September yet," he said. "That was certainly the case with Beryl. It's certainly going to be the case with this system as well."
This is the first time four tropical storms have been recorded before July 1 during the Atlantic hurricane season since record keeping began in 1851, but Letro said that doesn't necessarily mean 2012 will be a more active year than years past.
"We're kind of hoping that we're just getting everything frontloaded at the beginning of the season this year, and hopefully we can get into a quieter pattern as we get into the meat of the hurricane season.
The National Weather Service advises people to be prepared regardless of the forecast.