As Debby Hovers in Gulf, Florida Getting More Rain After raking Florida's Gulf coast with high winds and heavy rain, Tropical Storm Debby promised to bring more of the same in the coming days as it continued to hover in the Gulf of Mexico early Tuesday, in no apparent hurry to make landfall. The National Hurricane Center said Debby was about 85 miles west of Cedar Key, Fla., and moving eastward near 3 mph. It had maximum sustained winds near 45 mph, barely tropical-storm status. Still, the storm had made its presence felt Monday. Roads such as Tampa's Bayshore Boulevard were washed out. Residents tried to salvage belongings from flooded homes in low-lying areas. At one point Monday, high winds and flooding concerns prompted authorities to close two major routes over Tampa Bay into St. Petersburg: the Howard Frankland Bridge from Tampa and the Sunshine Skyway from the southeast. Before nightfall, Debbie had dumped more than a foot of rain on some parts over the previous 96 hours. And forecasters were expecting the rains to continue, bringing another 4 to 8 inches across northern Florida. Torrential rains and flooding would continue across parts of the Florida Panhandle and northern Florida for several days, even though the storm wasn't expected to gain strength. A motorist travels through floodwaters on Silver Springs Boulevard, Monday, June 25, 2012, in Salt Springs, Fla. Tropical Storm Debby raked the Tampa Bay area with high wind and heavy rain Monday in a drenching that could top 2 feet over the next few days and trigger widespread flooding. (AP Photo/The Ocala Star-Banner, Alan Youngblood) Close At least one person was killed Sunday by a tornado spun off by the large storm system. WFLA-TV reported that a young mother, Heather Town, died Sunday when her Highlands County home was lifted off its foundation and she and her baby girl were thrown into nearby woods. The mother was found clutching the child, who survived. "She was a great mother, and held her baby through all of this and held her so tight," her father, Elmer Town, Jr., told the news station. She was holding her during the tornado. And when they found her, she was still holding her. Alabama authorities searched for a man who disappeared in the rough surf. Progress Energy reported that as of 4 p.m. Monday, about 18,900 were still without power. Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a statewide emergency, allowing authorities to put laws against price-gouging into effect and override bureaucratic hurdles to deal with the storm. A tropical storm warning remained in effect Tuesday morning for about 450 miles of coastline, from Mexico Beach in the Panhandle to Englewood, south of Sarasota.