Deadly Tropical Storm Debby drenches East Coast | CNN (2024)

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper speaks about Tropical Storm Debby during a press conference on August 7.

As Tropical Storm Debby picks up strength and returns inland, the governor of North Carolina is warning residents to be prepared for major rainfall and flooding.

“All North Carolinians across our state need to be prepared for a deluge,” Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday. “More rain than most of us see in a month, or even several months.”

Emergency Management director William Ray said the state has already prepositioned 17 swift water rescue teams as a precaution. Cooper said the best thing people can do for their safety is to avoid walking or driving in flooded areas.

“Now is not the time to see if your car floats, because it doesn’t,” said Cooper.

Storm clouds are seen over Isle of Palms, South Carolina, on August 6.

Warm water just off the Atlantic Coast is allowing Tropical Storm Debby to strengthen. Debby now has sustained winds of 60 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. That’s an increase of 15 mph from earlier this morning.

The storm is moving quite slowly to the northeast at just 5 mph. It’ll make a slow turn to the north later today and make landfall on the South Carolina coast between Charleston and Myrtle Beach tonight or early Thursday morning.

Some additional strengthening is possible before Debby makes landfall, but the storm’s center is still struggling with some dry air which could limit its potential.

Debby is still a rather robust tropical storm and will generate dangerous storm surge for the coasts of the Carolinasup to 3 feet above normal high tidethrough landfall. Additional rainfall will drench the Southeast through at least Thursday.

President Joe Biden speaks at the White House on August 1, in Washington, DC.

President Joe Biden approved an emergency disaster declaration for North Carolina as Tropical Storm Debby lashes parts of the state.

The declaration unlocks federal funding assistance to supplement state and local response efforts to Debby.

It authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to “coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population,” according to a news release from the White House.

Biden already approved declarations for Florida, Georgia and South Carolina due to the storm.

Ocean Isle Beach, a seaside townon a barrier islandin North Carolina, asked residents and visitors to leave Wednesday due to the threat of storm surge from Tropical Storm Debby.

Ocean Isle Beach in an area in coastal Brunswick County that is under astormsurgewatch, with the potential for a surge of up to four feet.

Debby’s deluge has pushed waterways in the Southeast to their limits. Several dozen river gauges from Florida through the Carolinas have reached or are expected to exceed moderate or major flood levels.

Major river flooding, the highest possible level, is ongoing for at least seven locations across the Southeast Wednesday morning and could swell to at least 16 locations in the coming days.

Rivers in major flood stage are capable of flooding structures and forcing evacuations and can even reach record high levels.

River flooding is different from flash flooding that is sometimes able to drain away quickly. It could take days and sometimes weeks for excess water in rivers to work its way downstream and empty into a larger body of water like the ocean.

And when waterways are this swollen, floodwaters covering other surfaces can’t easily drain away and remain stuck in place.

Many waterways are swollen due to Debby's rainfall. Multiple rivers are in major flood stage (purple circles) or are forecast to reach major flood stage (purple squares). Reds indicate moderate flood stage and oranges are minor flood stage.

Any additional rainfall over the Southeast this week will also delay the recession of rivers and worsen any ongoing flooding.

Parts of northern Florida are under heat alerts today as the region is still recovering from Debby, which made landfall in the state’s Big Bend Monday as a Category 1 hurricane.

High temperatures in northern Florida, including Panama City and Tallahassee, are expected to climb between 95 and 100 degrees, with heat indices between 105 and 110 degrees.

These temperatures are 5 to 10 degrees above average.

As the temperatures climb, more than 35,000 customers in Florida were still without power Wednesday morning, according toPowerOutage.us.

People walk on a flooded street in Charleston, South Carolina, on August 6.

AsTropical StormDebby churns in the Atlantic before making a turn back toward the U.S. coastline, the city of Charleston, South Carolina, is lifting its curfew.

“After assessing overnight conditions, officials have determined that it is safe to return to normal activities,” the city announced in anews releaseWednesday morning.

Onlyone roadin Charleston remained closed as of 7:30am Wednesday. The curfewbegan Monday night.

The Charleston police and fire departments said they did not need to perform any rescues during the storm.

Areas hit hard by Debby’s torrential rainfall over the last few days are getting a breather thanks to an assist from dry air.

Tropical cyclones like Debby rotate in a counterclockwise direction and pull in surrounding air from all directions to feed their circulation. Moist air helps cyclones sustain themselves by fueling thunderstorms and dry air limits storm development.

Debby has been ingesting some drier air from the west and south and it has worked its way into the center. Dry air and stormy weather don’t mix, so Debby has a significant area near its center largely free of storms.

This satellite image shows water vapor values in a layer of the atmosphere above the surface Wednesday morning. Areas of blue and grey indicate spots where air has plenty of moisture. Red and orange areas show where air is dry.

The center of Tropical Storm Debby is located over the Atlantic, about 65 miles south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm has strengthened some since moving over water Tuesday afternoon and its sustained winds are now 45 mph, up 5 mph from last night.

Some slight strengthening is likely as Debby meanders just off the coast. The storm is still producing drenching rainfall, but its heaviest rain bands are located well away from its center.

Coastal North Carolina is bearing the brunt of the storm’s rainfall this morning, but that could change this afternoon. Heavy storms could develop closer to Debby’s center and lay down more rain over already-waterlogged portions of South Carolina, raising the flood risk.

A level 4 of 4 high risk of flooding rainfall is in place for far northeastern South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina.

Debby will start to move north later today and make landfall between Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, overnight. Storm surge flooding up to 4 feet is possible along the coast of the Carolinas through landfall. Debby will also generate dangerous seas and rip currents along the East Coast.

A street is flooded by Tropical Storm Debby on August 6, in Charleston, South Carolina.

Officials in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina,informed residents on Tuesdaythat flooding fueled by Tropical Storm Debby has persisted “because drainage systems are generally full.”

“There is nowhere for the water to drain” because “many ponds and the surrounding wetlands are at capacity,” the officials said.

“There is no immediate fix for this issue,” the town said. “Further investigation will be conducted once water levels lower, and we can get a better look at the system,” the message read.

Mount Pleasant is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina.

A man sells umbrellas as people walk through the rain in Manhattan, as a severe storm moves through the area in the early evening on August 6.

Flash flood warnings that were in effect across parts of the Northeast Tuesday have expired.

Tropical Storm Debby has supported a cold front moving through the region, fueling heavy rainfall to some areas, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.

A flash flood warning has been replaced with a flood warning in Philadelphia, where the National Weather Service said 2 to 4 inches of rainfall fell. Isolated areas saw over 5 inches of rain.

Flash flood warnings expired late Tuesday for Newark and areas north of downtown New York City. Newark saw 2 to 4.5 inches of rain and New York City saw 1.5 to 4.5 inches.

Debby will continue to impact the Southeast Wednesday and Thursday, but will eventually move through the Mid-Atlantic by the end of the week.

The storm could impact the Northeast for part of the weekend, bringing another round of potentially heavy rainfall. The Weather Prediction Center says there’s a moderate chance of excessive rainfall, or a level 3 of 4,for interior portions of the Northeast on Friday. A slight risk, or a level 2 of 4, exists on Saturday.

A vehicle is stuck on a flooded street in Charleston, South Carolina, due to Tropical Storm Debby, on August 06.

Tropical Storm Debby has tapped into the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean, which helped strengthen its winds slightly to 45 mph,the National Hurricane Center said in a 2 a.m. ET Wednesday advisory.

The center of the storm is about 70 miles south of Charleston and about 75 miles east-southeast of Savannah, moving east-southeast at 5 mph.

Heavy rainfall is expected to persist across the Carolinas on Wednesday and Thursday. High risks of excessive rainfall, or a level 4 of 4, remain in place for parts of the states.

A house is surrounded by water in Savannah, Georgia on August 6.

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Storm Debby threatens 'once-in-a-thousand-year' levels of rain, flooding in U.S. | CBC News

Debby has turned roads into rivers and homes into swamps in parts of the Southeast.

Debby has already dumped more than 1.5 feet of rain in Florida, more than 1 foot in South Carolina and nearly 1 foot in Georgia.

Here are the rainfall totals recorded by the Weather Prediction Center from Saturday to Tuesday:

Florida:

South Carolina:

Georgia:

North Carolina:

Houses sit in floodwater, due to Tropical Storm Debby, in Charleston, South Carolina, on August 6.

As Tropical Storm Debby lashes much of the Southeast, parts of the Mid-Atlantic are bracing for a soggy end to the week.

Here’s how several cities are expected to be impacted:

Charleston, South Carolina

Wilmington, North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina

Richmond, Virginia

Because the storm is currently forecast to move into the Northeast as a tropical depression over the weekend, other areas could also see flooding from Debby.

A man walks Tuesday through a flooded entrance to the beach in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, as Tropical Storm Debby moves off Georgia to the North Atlantic.

Tropical Storm Debby still was packing 40 mph winds as its center hovered over the Atlantic Ocean about 50 miles east-southeast of Savannah, Georgia, and about 70 miles south-southwest of Charleston, South Carolina, the National Hurricane Center said in an 11 p.m. ET Tuesday advisory.

The storm was inching eastward at about 5 mph.

“A slow motion toward the east and then north is expected through Thursday night. On the forecast track, the center of Debby is expected to slowly move away from the coast of Georgia and South Carolina tonight, continue to drift offshore through early Thursday, and then move inland over South Carolina on Thursday,” the hurricane center said.

Some strengthening is expected for Debby on Wednesday, but the storm is not expected to become a hurricane again.

Heavy rainfall, gusty winds and a few tornadoes remain possible across the Southeast for Wednesday.

Debby is expected to produce potentially historic rainfall storm totals across eastern South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina through Friday. Rainfall totals of 10 to 20 inches are possible, with isolated totals potentially reaching 25 inches in some areas.

Southeastern Georgia could see another 1 to 3 inches of rain.

The remainder of South Carolina, southwestern Virginia, portions of the mid-Atlantic and New York, and eventually northern New England could see 3-6 inches with isolated totals approaching 8 inches through Saturday.

Here are the current watches and warnings in place:

Yards of beachfront houses are flooded as Tropical Storm Debby moves into the Atlantic, in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, on August 6.

Tropical Storm Debby is wreaking havoc up and down the East Coast as it delivers torrential rains and dangerous flooding to South Carolina — even while helping drive another significant flood threat in the Northeast.

The slow-moving storm, which is currently hovering off the Georgia-South Carolina coast, will continue creating headaches for the rest of the week as it crawls northward.

Further north, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has declared a state of emergency in anticipation of transportation difficulties and power outages as Debby approaches.

Here’s what you need to know:

A cold front sweeping through the Northeast has tapped into tropical moisture associated with Debby and is bringing heavy rainfall to the New Jersey and Philadelphia areas.

Flash flood warnings are in effect across parts of the region, including in Philadelphia and parts of New Jersey, including Morristown and Trenton.

“Life-threatening flooding” is possible in Philadelphia, the National Weather Service said in its warning. Several roads have been flooded in the area, and 3 to 5 inches of rain has been reported, the agency said.

Newark has seen between 2 to 4.5 inches of rain and another inch is possible.

Parts of the New York City area were also under flash flood warnings earlier Tuesday evening, but those have since expired. New York City has seen 1.5 to 4.5 inches of rain and could see around another inch.

The bulk of the rainfall will move through the area over the next few hours. The flood watches will remain for New York and Philadelphia until Wednesday morning.

Residents repair their roof as high winds from an outer band from Tropical Storm Debby passed over the Isle of Palms, South Carolina, on August 6.

A tornado watch along the Carolina coast has been extended until 1 am EDT, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

More than 1 million people are under the tornado watch, including residents of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina.

Tornado threats will persist through the week, and twisters have “likely occurred” in Edisto Beach, Kiawah Island, Moncks Corner, Lady’s Island, West Ashley and Isle of Palms, John Quagliariello with the National Weather Service said.

A truck sprays flood water n Charleston as Tropical Storm Debby approaches on Tuesday.

Charleston will remain under curfew until at least 7:30 a.m. Wednesday after the city receiveda foot of water from Tropical Storm Debby, Mayor William Cogswell Jr. said in anews conference Tuesday night.

No fatalities or injuries have been reported thus far across South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster said at a Tuesday news conference, and there haven’t been any local evacuation orders. Colleton County, in the southern part of the state, has preliminarily reported damage to about 50 homes.

John Quagliariello with the National Weather Service said there will likely be “catastrophic flash and urban flooding” with a local total of 25 inches of rainfall possible.

Rainfall “will remain the greatest concern,” Quagliariello emphasized Tuesday, noting rivers will also rise “significantly” and any resulting flooding could “last long-term, cutting off access to some communities.”

Tornado threats will also persist through the week, and twisters have “likely occurred” in Edisto Beach, Kiawah Island, Moncks Corner, Lady’s Island, West Ashley and Isle of Palms, Quagliariello said.

There were over 12,000 storm-related outages statewide as of Tuesday afternoon, and residents should be expecting more, according to Andrew Bateman of the state Office of Regulatory Staff.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared astate of emergencyTuesday afternoon, anticipating transportation difficulties and power outages from Tropical StormDebby, his office said in a news release.

Though Debby’s exact track is uncertain, strong winds, heavy rains, storm surgeand severe flooding could hit the Commonwealth by Wednesday evening, the release said.

People waiting in extreme heat to buy ice at Duplantier Ice Service in New Orleans, Louisiana on September 1, 2021, as power remained out in most of the city after Hurricane Ida ripped through the state.

When Hurricane Ida battered Louisiana with catastrophic flooding and powerful winds in August 2021,more than 1 million peoplelost power. Then came the heat wave.

Temperatures rose above 90 degrees Fahrenheit — a sucker punch to those sweltering in their homes, unable to turn on air conditioning as power outages stretched on for days.

It was the heat that proved deadliestin New Orleans, responsible forat least nineof the city’s 14 hurricane-related deaths.

The combination of a hurricane, heat wave and a multi-day power outage is a nightmare scenario, but it’s one set to become more common as humans continue to warm the planet, fueling devastating extreme weather. And it reveals an uncomfortable truth about the vulnerability of humanity’s ultimate protection against heat: air conditioning.

Here’s why your air conditioning can’t save you anymore.

Chatham County employees dump a truck load of sand for residents to use in sandbag as they prepare for Hurricane Debby, in Savannah, Georgia on August 5.

Hurricane survivors returning to damaged houses face a torrent of challenges – if they’re lucky enough to have a home at all.

Flooding. Mold damage. Insurance headaches. Deadly hidden hazards.

The onslaught of mental anguish and post-hurricane dangers can seem overwhelming. Here’s how victims can stay safe, get help and take the first steps toward recovery:

Don’t go home until it’s completely safe: Just because the hurricane is over doesn’t mean it’s safe to drive. Residents should “return home only when local officials say it is safe to do so,” theFederal Emergency Management Agencysays.

If you see a flooded road, officials stress a life-saving but often ignored mantra: “Turn around, don’t drown.”

Every year, more deaths occur due to flooding than from any other thunderstorm-related hazard, the National Weather Service says.

Use extreme caution when you get home: When it’s safe to go home, try toarrive during daytime hoursso you don’t need any lights, the CDC says. You might not have power in the area.

Once you get there, “Walk carefully around the outside of your home to check for loose power lines, gas leaks, and structural damage,” the National Weather Service says.

If your home is flooded, “wait to re-enter your home until professionals tell you it is safe, with no structural, electrical or other hazards,” the CDC says.

Minimize the risk of electrocution: Flooded homes require additional precautions to prevent electrocution.

“If you have standing water in your home and can turn off the main power from a dry location, then go ahead and turn off the power,”the CDC says.

Read more about how to recover from a hurricane or tropical storm.

All eyes are on Debby, but the storm could be an appetizer of what’s to come as a predicted hyperactive hurricane season builds toward its climatological crescendo, with forecasters at Colorado State University calling for an abnormally active August in the Atlantic Ocean.

There’s an 85% chance of above-normal activity from August 6 to 19, according to the report.

Atmospheric conditions are forecast to become more favorable for development during this timeframe and forecast models are showing increased tropical activity across the area of the Atlantic where most tropical systems form, the report said.

The Atlantic is already near record-warm in the region, providing ample food for any storms to feast on.