With Tropical Storm Debby continuing to strengthen Sunday and expected to reach the Big Bend of Florida as a Hurricane, the threat of more than a foot of rain and a storm surge of maybe four feet prompted Fort Pulaski National Monument and Cumberland Island National Seashore, both in Georgia, to announce they would close Monday to prepare for the storm.

"On the forecast track, the [storm's] center will move across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico through tonight and reach the Florida Big Bend coast Monday morning," the National Hurricane Center said Sunday afternoon. "Debby is then expected to move slowly across northern Florida and southern Georgia Monday and Tuesday.

"Maximum sustained winds are near 65 mph (100 km/h) with higher gusts. Rapid strengthening is forecast, and Debby is expected to become a hurricane by tonight before it reaches the Florida Big Bend coast," the agency said.

At Cumberland Island, staff posted that the seashore "will be closed on Monday, August 5th, and Tuesday, August 6th, due to expected flooding conditions. Ferry and camping services are suspended, and all mainland facilities will be closed."

Staff at Fort Pulaski, which routinely floods with tropical storms, said they were closing Monday "to finish safety and property preparations."

Other parks that were closed by the storm included Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve and DeSoto National Memorial, both in Florida.