After battering the southeastern U.S., remnants of Debby barreled through the Mid-Atlantic on Friday, fueling dangerous flood conditions across the Northeast as disruptions piled up at airports and authorities began rescue operations.
Debby, now a post-tropical cyclone, was expected to drench Upstate New York in up to 6 inches of rain before dumping several inches over northern New England as well as the coastal Carolinas, continuing its devastating deluge there.
Friday afternoon, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for all of New York. "We are prepared to deploy resources to areas affected by the severe weather caused by the remnants of Debby," she posted on X. "Please stay safe, monitor your local forecasts, and keep off the roads."
Earlier in the day, the National Weather Service had issued flash flood emergencies in multiple counties and towns near the New York-Pennsylvania border, reporting that neighborhoods had been inundated by life-threatening flash flooding, which cut off access to roads and homes and triggered water rescues.
The rare alerts, urging people to seek higher ground, were issued for New York's Steuben County, as well as neighboring Allegany County, where 4 and 4.5 inches of rain had fallen by the afternoon. Another flood emergency alert was issued for the town of Westfield in north-central Pennsylvania, while officials in Binghamton, New York, reported impassable roadways. Meanwhile, water rescues were underway in Greene County, Virginia.
The major flooding was not limited to the Northeast. Rescue operations were also ongoing in South Carolina as rivers and streams continued overflowing. In Savannah, Georgia, the city closed roadways on Friday citing the continued swelling and flooding of the Ogeechee River, according to a post on X from Mayor Van Johnson.
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In Washington D.C., the city's metro experienced delays because of reported flooding. Flights at airports in the capital city and New York were temporarily grounded, and average delay times exceeded one hour, frustrating travelers.
Since Monday, when Debby made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida, the storm has plunged entire communities under water, spawned tornadoes and led to the deaths of at least eight people across North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
Where is Tropical Storm Debby?Maps track path, flooding, rain, where it already hit
Developments:
◾ A flash flood warning had been issued for Washington, D.C. Friday morning, but had expired by early afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. "Turn around, don't drown! If you're walking or driving toward a flooded road, find another route," said the district's Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
◾ Overnight, the weather service received reports of at least three possible tornadoes in the Mid-Atlantic region: one in New Castle, Delaware, and the others in Caroline and Stafford, Virginia. Crews with the weather service will inspect the damage to determine whether tornadoes had touched down.
◾ In New York City, the state's Department of Emergency Management issued a travel advisory, warning of 1 to 2 inches of rain as well as potential flash flooding, damaging winds and "brief tornadoes."
Debby was the second hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, following in the footsteps of deadly and devastating Hurricane Beryl. Debby, which formed Aug. 2, was also quite early: On average, the second Atlantic hurricane usually forms on Aug. 26, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
In addition, Debby, which smashed into Steinhatchee, Florida, on Monday, was the 4th hurricane to make landfall in Florida in August since 2000. The other three were: Charley (2004), Katrina (2005) and Idalia (2023).
Debby was 160 miles northeast of Pittsburgh and 215 miles south-southwest of Albany, according to the National Hurricane Center's 11 a.m. update.
The storm was moving northeast at 37 mph and had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, according to the hurricane center. Through most of the week, the storm moved at a slow pace in the single digits, dropping as low as 4 and 5 mph while it dumped over a foot of rain from Florida to North Carolina.
Through Friday night, bands of rain are expected to lash a swath of the Northeast while threats of tornadoes and winds capable of toppling trees and utility poles remain, the weather service said.
In the wake of Debby, a sweltering heat wave was forecast for Florida and the Deep South on Friday. Temperatures were expected to reach well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit across the region. Calling the heat "dangerous," the National Weather Service in New Orleans advised residents "to stay safe, take breaks in the shade or air conditioning, drink plenty of water, check on the elderly, and bring pets indoors!"
While Debby’s most intense conditions began bearing down on the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Friday, the Carolinas still faced rounds of heavy rain as rivers continued to crest, triggering additional water rescues.
In Berkeley County, just north of Charleston, South Carolina, “rescue operations have been ongoing throughout the early morning hours on Friday,” the county said in a statement on Facebook.
The rescue came as flooding continued “worsening along several creeks and streams across portions of Dorchester and Berkeley Counties,” the weather service in Charleston said. The high water cut off access to several main roads, forcing officials to close county offices and urge residents to avoid traveling in some areas.
In Berkeley County, as much as 14 inches has fallen this week, while Charleston recorded rainfall totals as high as 15 inches, according to the weather service.
Officials in North Carolina's Rockingham County said a woman's body was discovered on Thursday in a mobile home that had been partially crushed by a tree – the latest death authorities have connected to Debby.
The Rockingham Sheriff's Office identified the woman as 78-year-old Hilda Windsor Jones. She, according to the sheriff's office, lived at home alone and was in her bathroom when the tree toppled over "due to weather from the remnants of Hurricane Debby."
In Wilson County, about 150 miles northeast of Rockingham, a search and rescue team discovered the body of an adult male inside a home that was damaged by a tornado that ripped through the town of Lucama, Stephen Mann, director of communication for Wilson County, previously told USA TODAY. The twister damaged at least four homes as well as a church and a middle school.
Officials have tied Debby to at least six other deaths, five in Florida and one in Georgia. In the southern Georgia city of Moultrie, a tree fell onto a home, killing a 19-year-old. In Florida, two adults and a 12-year-old girl were killed in fatal vehicle accidents; also, a 13-year-old boy died after a tree landed on a mobile home; and officials on Tuesday found the body of a boater who had been missing near the city of Gulfport.
Officials in Greene County, Virginia, said water rescues began early Friday as remnants of Debby continued its deluge, soaking roads and bridges under several inches of floodwater.
“Please refrain from travel if possible – specifically in the Stanardsville District – where flooded roadways and bridges are an issue,” said a statement released at 6 a.m. by officials in Greene County, 90 miles northwest of Richmond.
Roads across the state were closed as low-lying and coastal areas flooded and rivers crested. Torrential downpours continued across Virginia on Friday after starting up a day earlier, when Debby inched up from North Carolina. Within the last 24 hours, up to 8 inches of rain fell across parts of Virginia, according to the weather service.
Flights at multiple major airports across the Northeast were temporarily grounded as the remnants of Debby moved over the region, causing a slew of delays and travel disruptions.
The Federal Aviation Administration said ground stops were issued at New York City’s LaGuardia International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.
After the ground stops were lifted, those airports as well as John F. Kennedy Airport, Newark International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport reported average departure delays between 30 minutes and an hour, according to the FAA.
In the eastern U.S., more than 100,000 homes and businesses were in the dark Friday afternoon as Debby barreled across the Mid-Atlantic region and officials struggled to restore power across Ohio, where nearly 200,000 utility customers remain without power.
The most outages in the eastern U.S. were in Pennsylvania, where some 78,000 utility customers were without power, according to Poweroutage.us. Virginia reported 15,000 and Maryland 18,000.
Meanwhile, in Ohio, more than 189,000 homes and businesses were without power after storms broke out across the state on Tuesday, spawning tornadoes, damaging property and, at its peak, over 300,000 outages.
Contributing: Reuters
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