Just popping in.
It’s not uncommon to have mixed signals as a TC is trying to essentially find its footing in an environment. While there is a well defined low level center, and pretty good satellite presentation, recon and radar make it clear that there’s substantial work to be done to build the kind of inner core necessary for the intensification the NHC expects.
The center needs to tighten from its current elongated state so that convection can efficiently wrap around the center and begin a more significant pressure fall.
There’s time for that to happen, hence the forecast. The environment is excellent for intensification and I expect Debby to take advantage of it tomorrow at a gradually faster pace.
Shear is low, and Debby is under an anticyclone.
Obviously, SSTs are anomalously warm. Historically so.
Dry air is nearby, which could be a somewhat limiting factor until the system develops an inner core (time sensitive)
The biggest limiting factor is time. This is a system that could pop extremely fast, and both the FL coast and SE coast should be prepared for a hurricane. How quickly an inner core develops to take advantage of a very favorable environment is key. SHIPS shows the potential very well.
Those are high numbers, but it’s far from a guarantee that high end RI occurs.
But some of this wind discussion loses sight of the real issue. There’s a lot to sort out, but this is a big hydrological system potentially up the coast between the system itself and a trough enhanced Predecessor Rain Event (PRE).
Finally, track after FL is highly uncertain. While I am intrigued by the op solutions driving this well inland in the SE, the super ensemble is a bit different. Just keep that in mind as the more exotic solutions could (or could not) smooth out.
Track images from Tomer’s site.