Storm Debby Threatens Carolinas With Possible Floods, Tornados

Tropical Storm Debby is meandering through Georgia and South Carolina this morning, bringing as much as 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) of rain in some isolated spots.

The storm was about 105 miles southwest of Charleston, South Carolina with top winds of 45 miles per hour at 8 a.m., according to a US National Hurricane Center advisory.

Flood watches and warnings are out across the Carolinas, as well as tornado watches. Rivers from Florida to North Carolina are rising rapidly or are forecast to do so. The St. Marys River in northern Florida has risen more than 10 feet (3 meters) in the last day, according to the National Weather Service. The Ohoopee River in Georgia is forecast to rise more than 15 feet nearing a record in coming days.

Nearly 162,000 customers are without power in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, according to PowerOutage.us.

The US Southeast has been battered by a number of storms in recent years that have led to widespread flooding and damage to agriculture in the region. Most notable was 2018’s Hurricane Florence that killed more than 50 people and left a trail or widespread destruction because of its heavy inland rains.

Debby is slowing making its way through the South this week before finally being swept up the East Coast this weekend. It is forecast to be a tropical depression off the coast of Maine by Sunday.

Top photo: Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission return from looking for stranded residents after Hurricane Debby made landfall in Suwannee, Florida, US, on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Tropical Storm Debby threatens to unleash days of heavy rain and flooding on the US East Coast after slamming into Florida as a hurricane, knocking out power to thousands.