diff --git a/.github/workflows/github_autotools_gnu.yml b/.github/workflows/github_autotools_gnu.yml
index acfa20f45..c290944e4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/github_autotools_gnu.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/github_autotools_gnu.yml
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ jobs:
         TEST_VERBOSE: 1
         DISTCHECK_CONFIGURE_FLAGS: "${{ matrix.conf-flag }} ${{ matrix.input-flag }} ${{ matrix.io-flag }}"
         SKIP_TESTS: "test_horiz_interp2.[23-24]" # TODO (couldn't reproduce outside CI)
+        DEBUG_FLAGS: "-O0 -g -fbounds-check -ffpe-trap=invalid,zero,overflow" # debug compiler flags taken from the mkmf template
     steps:
     - name: Checkout code
       uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -32,10 +33,10 @@ jobs:
       run: autoreconf -if
     - name: Configure the build
       if: ${{ matrix.conf-flag != '--disable-setting-flags' }}
-      run: ./configure ${DISTCHECK_CONFIGURE_FLAGS} FCFLAGS="$FCFLAGS -O0 -g -W -fbounds-check -ffpe-trap=invalid,zero,overflow"
+      run: ./configure ${DISTCHECK_CONFIGURE_FLAGS} FCFLAGS="$FCFLAGS $DEBUG_FLAGS"
     - name: Configure the build with compiler flags
       if: ${{ matrix.conf-flag == '--disable-setting-flags' }}
-      run: ./configure ${DISTCHECK_CONFIGURE_FLAGS} FCFLAGS="-fdefault-real-8 -fdefault-double-8 -fcray-pointer -ffree-line-length-none -I/usr/include $FCFLAGS" || cat config.log
+      run: ./configure ${DISTCHECK_CONFIGURE_FLAGS} FCFLAGS="-fdefault-real-8 -fdefault-double-8 -fcray-pointer -ffree-line-length-none -I/usr/include $FCFLAGS $DEBUG_FLAGS" || cat config.log
     - name: Build the library
       run: make distcheck
       if: ${{ matrix.conf-flag != '--with-mpi=no' }}