Tropical Storm Debby not done: ‘Catastrophic’ flooding possible in the Southeast
Debby was still a tropical storm on Tuesday, more than 24 hours after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Florida’s Big Bend.
Debby, the second hurricane of 2024 in the Atlantic, spent Monday crawling across parts of north Florida and south Georgia, dumping a lot of heavy rain in the process.
Debby has been blamed for causing at least five deaths so far.
And there’s likely a lot more rain to come.
The National Hurricane Center said Debby’s center was still over south Georgia on Tuesday morning but was poised to move into the western Atlantic Ocean, where it could meander for the next few days.
Forecasters warned of a continued “major” flood threat for parts of the Carolinas and Georgia this week.
As of 7 a.m. CDT Tuesday, the center of Tropical Storm Debby was located about 20 miles southwest of Savannah, Ga., and was moving to the northeast at 6 mph.
Debby had 45 mph winds, making it a minimal tropical storm. The hurricane center said some strengthening will be possible over the next few days after the center moves over water, but Debby is not expected to become a hurricane again.
On the hurricane center’s forecast track, Debby is expected to move offshore the Georgia coast later today and drift offshore through Thursday.
It could then make a second landfall in South Carolina as a tropical storm on Thursday.
But the big headline with Debby will be its rainfall and potential flooding up the Atlantic Coast.
Forecasters said “potentially historic” rainfall of 10 to 20 inches, with maximum amounts of 25 inches, will be possible across southeast Georgia and eastern South and North Carolina through Friday.
Areas to the north of that, including the mid-Atlantic coast, could get 4 to 8 inches, and an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain will be possible for parts of the Florida peninsula today.
Here is the forecast for rainfall:
Here’s the forecast for rain from Debby.NHC
Some areas in Georgia and South Carolina have already gotten nearly 10 inches of rain, according to The Weather Channel:
Here are the watches and warnings as of Tuesday morning:
* A Storm Surge Warning is in effect from Altamaha Sound, Ga., to the South Santee River, S.C.
* A Storm Surge Watch is in effect from north of the South Santee River, S.C., to Cape Fear, N.C.
* A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from Altamaha Sound, Ga., to Little River Inlet, S.C.
* A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect from north of Little River Inlet, S.C., to Surf City, N.C.