Storm Debby is expected to cause heavy rainfall and bring tornado risk after it made its second US landfall in South Carolina in the early hours of Thursday morning.
According to the most recent update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), at around 8am EDT the storm was located inland over South Carolina with maximum wind speeds of around 45mph.
When the storm first made landfall on Monday in Florida, it was a Category 1 Hurricane.
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Five deaths so far have happened in Florida, with one other in Georgia – most of these deaths were from falling trees.
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One additional death has since been confirmed in Lucama, North Carolina.
The NHC has warned that “considerable flooding” is expected across parts of eastern South Carolina and southeast North Carolina, with an additional one to three inches and three to six inches of rainfall expected respectively.
This would bring maximum storm rainfall totals to between 15 and 25 inches in places.
Areas near the coast are also being advised to be cautious of storm surges, which when combined with the tide, could cause “normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising water moving inland from the shoreline.”
In addition, the NHC has warned that “a few tornadoes may occur over part of eastern North Carolina this morning”, with the threat shifting northward later today into central North Carolina and southern to central Virginia.
Here's what we know so far: Since about 2:30 a.m. this morning, Wilson County started getting tornado warnings. An...
Posted by Wilson County Government on Thursday 8 August 2024
Wilson County Government officials confirmed that an “active tornado” touched down at around 3am in Lucama, North Carolina this morning.
Serious damage was caused to a school with a church and some homes also impacted.
Looking forward, the storm is expected to weaken over the next day or two and is likely to become a tropical depression this afternoon or later this evening.
“Debby is then expected to move faster toward the northeast across the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Friday and Atlantic Canada on Saturday,” the NHC said.
