Debby not done as Northeast faces threat of flooding, strong winds and tornadoes

NEW YORK – Debby was downgraded to a post-tropical storm Friday morning, but the flood and severe threat from the storm remain into the weekend.

The storm is now spiraling up the Eastern Seaboard with several Tornado Warnings already issued, including briefly near Washington.

Debby has been a drencher, as the waterlogged Southeast is still feeling the impacts. River gauges are reading high Friday as numerous rivers from Florida to New York are either approaching or at flood stage.

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In Moncks Corner, South Carolina, a Flash Flood Emergency was issued Friday due to Debby. Evacuations have been ordered, and high-water rescues continued early Friday morning. Homes were flooded, and even more roads were closed due to 2-3 feet of fast-moving water. Emergency officials said they got 9 inches of rain during the event.

“Please note that an additional 2 inches of rain is forecasted for this afternoon, which may lead to further flooding due to the saturated ground and water in ditches,” Moncks Corner Mayor Thomas Hamilton stressed on social media. “Please take necessary precautions to ensure your safety.” 

Flash Flood Emergencies are exceedingly rare and are only issued when there’s a severe threat to human life and catastrophic damage is occurring. 

Flooding, tornadoes likely in Northeast on Friday

The deadly and slow-moving storm is now making its trek into the Northeast, where millions of people are bracing for its soaking rain, flash flooding and a threat of tornadoes Friday.

Wind advisories have been issued across large swaths of the Northeast where winds of up to 50 mph are expected, especially along coastal areas.

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The FOX Forecast Center said large amounts of tropical moisture associated with Debby, combined with increasing lift from a dip in the jet stream to the west, are expected to produce very heavy rain from the central Appalachians through the interior Northeast. An additional 3-5 inches of rain are likely to fall from Pennsylvania to Maine in less than 24 hours.

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This heavy rain will fall on nearly saturated soils, which have been primed by multiple rounds of storms over the past few weeks. The FOX Forecast Center said this would lead to a substantial risk for flash flooding and river flooding in the Lake Champlain, Connecticut River and Hudson River basins.

NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center placed nearly 10 million people from Pennsylvania to Vermont in a Level 3 out of 4 flood risk on Friday. The zone includes cities such as Scranton in Pennsylvania, Syracuse, Binghamton and Albany in New York and Burlington in Vermont.

New York City has been placed in a Level 1 flood threat.

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Tornadoes are also possible Friday along the east side of Debby, from the Delmarva region northward into eastern New York. 

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has placed areas of the U.S. from Virginia to northern New England at a Level 1 out of 5 risk on its severe thunderstorm risk scale. This includes cities such as Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City.

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Debby’s destructive path continues

Debby made its first landfall along Florida’s Big Bend region early Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane. 

The storm moved slowly as it crossed northern Florida and Georgia. It eventually reached the Carolinas, where it dumped feet of rain and caused widespread flooding. 

Debby then moved offshore over the open ocean before swinging back toward the East Coast of the U.S., making its second U.S. landfall Thursday in South Carolina with winds of about 50 mph.

Tornadoes from Debby have already leveled homes, knocked out power, damaged a school and killed one person in the Southeast. The death toll from Debby now stands at seven.

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