The remnants of Storm Debby are wreaking havoc across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, bringing with it torrential rains, severe flooding, and the looming threat of tornadoes. As the storm barrels through the region, millions of residents are under threat, with flood warnings and watches stretching from the Carolinas to New England. The National Weather Service warned early Friday that some areas could see between 15 to 25 inches of rainfall, enough to cause "considerable to locally catastrophic flooding impacts."
The storm, which has already claimed at least seven lives, made its first landfall in Florida as a Category 1 hurricane before weakening to a tropical depression by Thursday. On Friday, it was downgraded once more to a post-tropical storm, but its potential for destruction remains high, particularly as it continues to unleash heavy rainfall across densely populated areas.
In Berkeley County, South Carolina, emergency responders were racing against time early Friday as they conducted multiple rescues in Moncks Corner, a town north of Charleston, where 2 to 3 feet of fast-moving floodwaters surged through the streets. The water levels rose so high that residents were seen kayaking through the inundated streets of Longs, South Carolina. Meanwhile, the threat of tornadoes looms large over parts of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey, with a tornado watch issued for millions, including major metropolitan areas like Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia.
The storm has already shown its deadly force. In North Carolina, a tornado spawned by Debby left a trail of destruction, claiming the life of a 78-year-old woman when a tree fell on her trailer. Another man was found dead in Wilson County after his home collapsed during a tornado. Earlier in the week, Debby's impact was felt in Florida and Georgia, where four and one person respectively lost their lives due to the storm's wrath.
Debby's northeastern trajectory has sparked concerns of significant flooding in areas already saturated from previous storms. Vermont, still reeling from recent floods, is bracing for another extreme weather event, while Hershey Park in Pennsylvania preemptively shut its doors on Friday due to the "inclement weather from Tropical Storm Debby." The National Weather Service warned that areas along Debby's path could receive between 3 to 7 inches of rain, exacerbating flood risks, particularly in high-terrain areas.
The storm's relentless advance is also dragging unseasonably cold air into the region. A strong cold front extending from the Great Lakes through the Plains is pushing Debby northeastward while bringing temperatures 20-25 degrees below normal for August. Areas in the central Plains, middle Mississippi Valley, and northern Minnesota could see record lows as the storm moves through.
The storm's fury has been captured in numerous dramatic scenes, including video footage of a tornado touching down near Rocky Mount, North Carolina, on Thursday evening. In the nation's capital, multiple tornado warnings were issued, including one near Reagan National Airport, underscoring the rapid and unpredictable nature of Debby's threats.
Rescue operations are in full swing across the affected regions. In Raleigh, North Carolina, three children were rescued from a swollen creek after being swept away by the rushing waters. The children, aged 11, 8, and a friend, were found clinging to a tree branch by rescue personnel. "It was very scary because the water - it was just rushing on and there were a bunch of sticks and they were hitting us," one of the children recounted. "The rescue team came just in time," another added.
As Debby moves further northeast, the heaviest rainfall is expected to hit central Pennsylvania, New York, and Vermont on Friday. The rain will likely continue into Saturday morning before tapering off as the storm exits northern New England. However, the Southeast, which has been left in Debby's wake, is now contending with another hazard: sweltering heat. With heat indices expected to exceed 110 degrees in some areas, recovery efforts are expected to be grueling.
