Maps show Tropical Storm Debby's path and forecast
Tropical Storm Debby went offshore after moving slowly along a path over the southeastern United States on Tuesday, bringing torrential downpours across parts of Georgia and South Carolina that could break or tie rainfall records in both states, forecasters said.
Debby first hit land Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane over Florida's Big Bend coast and left a trail of inundation in its wake despite weakening shortly after landfall.
On Tuesday night, Debby's center moved offshore after lingering over the southeastern U.S. As of 11 p.m. ET, Debby's center was traveling east-northeast at just 5 mph — only slightly faster than the average adult's walking speed — with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 205 miles east of the center, forecasters added.
However, it was expected to strengthen while offshore and then make landfall yet again over South Carolina early Thursday.
The storm's sluggish pace meant flood risks were high across the region and could persist in some areas well into the week, or through the weekend.
"Debby is expected to produce potentially historic storm total rainfall of 10 to 20 inches, with maximum amounts of 25 inches, bringing areas of catastrophic flooding across portions of eastern South Carolina and southeast North Carolina through Friday," the Miami-based hurricane center said on Tuesday. "From central South Carolina to the Upstate of South Carolina, northward into Southwest Virginia, portions of the Mid-Atlantic States, western and northern New York State into Northern New England, 3 to 6 inches with local amounts to 8 inches, are expected through Saturday."
Although forecasters said Debby would likely gain power while offshore, the strengthening should be moderate as long as it remains near the coast, as expected, which would mean limited interaction with warmer Gulf Stream waters. Forecasters anticipated tropical storm conditions would continue along the coast of South Carolina through Thursday night.
Storm surge forecast
The map below, updated early Tuesday morning, shows the highest potential peak storm surge heights including tides. Forecasters noted that the timing of peak surge and high tide in a given area, and whether they coincide or not, will ultimately determine how destructive the inundation will be.
Dangerous storm surge and tropical storm conditions were forecast to spread northward along the southeastern coast of the U.S., from northeastern Florida to North Carolina, through midweek, the National Hurricane Center said. It urged people in parts of Florida that Debby passed on Monday to beware of "deadly hazards" left in its wake, including flooded areas and downed power lines.
Heavy rainfall totals dominate the forecast
Debby moved slowly Tuesday, and the hurricane center had anticipated rainfall totals along its path to be massive in part because the storm is lingering over each place it passes.
As Debby shifts farther east, the storm is expected to touch an expansive area, bringing the risk of torrential rain and flooding as far north as New England through Saturday.
While the storm had already brought unprecedented rainfall to Georgia and South Carolina, officials in parts of Florida said they were grappling with the aftermath of record rainfall, too, and preparing for more throughout the week.
The Manatee County Emergency Operations Center, in Bradenton, reported that the area saw a level of rain not seen before, with as much as 18 inches in some places. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Tuesday that the region would likely see another 4 or 5 inches of rain, at least, but noted that 8 more inches of rainfall was possible. DeSantis called the latter forecast a worst case scenario for already hard-hit communities.
