ST. GEORGE ISLAND, Fla. --  Parts of Interstate 10, the main highway across northern Florida, have been closed by flooding today as Tropical Storm Debby hangs offshore over the Gulf of Mexico, drenching Florida with rain.

Forecasters expect the region to get as much as 8 inches more, and some places could see as much as two feet of rain by the time it's all over.

The National Hurricane Center says Debby is on a path that would slowly take it across the state and into the Atlantic by Friday. Debby's top winds are barely tropical storm status, at 45 miles an hour, but with the torrential rain it's creating rough surf.

Emergency officials say flooding is the main concern. People in several sparsely populated counties near the crook of Florida's elbow have been urged to leave low-lying neighborhoods.

In the Tampa Bay area, a number of roads, including Tampa's Bayshore Boulevard, have been washed out. To the north, the Florida Highway Patrol closed portions of I-10. Troopers report flooding in several areas where it crosses I-75.

The Associated Press