Tropical Storm Debby is taking a breather over the western Atlantic Ocean but it isn’t done dousing the coastal Carolinas before it slowly marches north.
Debby, which made landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday, is now loitering off the South Carolina coast, 55 miles southeast of Charleston. With maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, it's moving northeast at 3 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center's 2 p.m. Wednesday advisory.
The slow-moving storm will churn north and its center will hit the South Carolina coastline for a second landfall Thursday morning. Then, Debby could head up across the Carolinas and the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Thursday and Friday, the weather service said.
The storm has already wrecked havoc, drenching coastal cities in Georgia and South Carolina late Monday into Tuesday, stirring up tornadoes and submerging streets with waist-high floodwaters along the way.
Charleston and Savannah, Georgia, were deluged into Tuesday, with curfews set and roads blocked by police. Downtown Charleston clocked a record rainfall of 3.56 inches in its downtown area, breaking a prior record of 3.46 inches set in 1992, the National Weather Service office there reported.
More rain is on the way. Debby has already dropped a foot of rain in some places. By the time the storm is done that number could double, bringing a threat of storm surge and flooding for the next couple of days in the South.
As Debby returns toward land it’s forecast to produce an additional 3 to 9 inches of rain, which could lead to maximum storm total amounts as high as 25 inches in South Carolina and 15 in southeast North Carolina. One to 2 inches of rain is also possible across southeast Georgia through Thursday, bringing overall storm totals as high as 15 inches, the National Hurricane Center warned.
A tornado or two is also possible over eastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina through Wednesday night, according to forecasters.
Once Debby heads up the coast, Maryland through upstate New York and Vermont could see 2 to 4 inches of rain, with local amounts of 6 inches, through Saturday morning that will produce “considerable flash and urban flooding as well as river flooding,” the morning advisory said.
Flooding and evacuations in the Southeast
In one Savannah neighborhood, firefighters used boats to evacuate some residents and waded through floodwaters to deliver bottled water and other supplies to those who refused to leave.
Michael Jones said water gushed into his home Monday evening, overturning the refrigerator and causing furniture to float. Outside, the water seemed to be everywhere and was too deep to flee safely. So Jones spent a sleepless night on his kitchen table before firefighters going door to door came in a boat Tuesday morning.
“It was hell all night,” Jones said.
In Charleston, Mayor William Cogswell said the road closures have kept businesses and homes from unnecessary damage and avoided the need for any high-water rescues.
“We especially don’t need any yahoos driving through the water and causing damage to properties,” Cogswell said.
Up to 15 inches of rain was expected in some places in the Carolinas, totals that are close to what the region saw in a historic flood from Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Two years later, many of those records were broken during Hurricane Florence. Both storms killed dozens.
North Carolina and Virginia have both declared a state of emergency.
“The effects of Debby are far-reaching, and our neighboring states are facing significant challenges,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said.
Several areas along North Carolina’s coastline are prone to flooding, such as Wilmington and the Outer Banks. Virginia could see impacts including strong winds, heavy rains and flooding.
A slow-moving storm producing lots of rain
Richard Pasch, of the hurricane center, warned that tropical cyclones “always produce heavy rain” but they usually move so it doesn't accumulate so much in one place.
“But when they move very slowly, that’s the worst situation,” he added.
There will be lulls in the rain as dry spells appear between bands around the center of the poorly organized storm, forecasters said. But some bands will be heavy and keep moving over the same places.
Green Pond in rural Colleton County, South Carolina, reported the most rain so far, just over 14 inches (36 centimeters). A nearby dam had water run over its top but did not crumble, while trees and washouts blocked a number of roads, county Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief David Greene said.
Close to a foot fell down-coast from Charleston to Savannah, where the National Weather Service reported 6.68 inches just on Monday. That’s already a month’s worth in a single day: In all of August 2023, the city got 5.56 inches.
Tornadoes knocked down trees and damaged a few homes on Kiawah Island and Edisto Island.
Crooked Hammock Brewery in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, decided to close early Tuesday.
“Flash flooding is super unpredictable, and we’d rather our staff and guests be home and safe,” marketing coordinator Georgena Dimitriadis said.
Far to the north in New York City, heavy storms that meteorologists said were being enhanced by Debby flooded some streets and expressways, stranding motorists. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch until noon Wednesday for the entire city.
Emergency officials warned of potential flash flooding, flying drones with loudspeakers in some New York City neighborhoods to tell people in basement apartments to be ready to flee at a moment’s notice.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued ground stops overnight at New York area airports, John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark. Thus far there are over 900 flight delays within, into or out of the U.S. Wednesday and over 400 flights have been canceled, according to FlightAware.
At least six people have died due to Debby, five of them in traffic accidents or from fallen trees. The sixth death involved a 48-year-old man in Gulfport, Florida, whose body was recovered after his anchored sailboat partially sank.
Officials said it may take two weeks to fully assess the damage in parts of north-central Florida as they wait for rivers to crest.
“You’re going to see the tributaries rise. That’s just inevitable. How much? We’ll see,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday. “It may be that it’s not flooded today and it could be flooded tomorrow.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp also warned of more rain and flooding to come, saying, “Do not let this storm lull you to sleep.”
President Joe Biden approved emergency declarations making federal disaster assistance available to Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.