Debby updates: Flash flooding, tornadoes target DC, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast

Debby will exit the Northeast on Saturday.

Last Updated: August 9, 2024, 5:10 PM EDT

Debby, which weakened from a tropical storm to a tropical depression Thursday afternoon, is slamming the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast with heavy rain on Friday.

Debby made landfall in Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday and crawled up the East Coast all week.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Aug 9, 3:30 pm

Latest forecast

Debby, now a post-tropical cyclone, is slamming the Northeast with heavy rain.

A life-threatening flash flood emergency was issued in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York due to fast-moving floodwaters.

A flood watch remains in effect for parts of nine states from South Carolina to New Hampshire due to the intense rain.

Showers with some downpours will continue across the Northeast through the evening. Tornadoes are also possible.

Debby will be gone by Saturday morning.

Aug 05, 2024, 8:20 AM EDT

Storm surge, flooding major threats

Storm surge and flooding are major threats to Florida as Hurricane Debby slams the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Monday.

Significant flooding has already impacted the Bradenton and Sarasota County area up to North Florida, he said.

A BMW sedan is stalled in high water on southbound US Alt 19 in Tarpon Springs where flooding remained on roadways on, Aug 5, 2024, as Tropical Storm Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore.
Douglas R Clifford/Tampa Bay Tim/ZUMA Press Wire via Shutterstock

The National Guard and Florida Highway Patrol are on standby, DeSantis said.

-ABC News’ Victoria Arancio

Aug 05, 2024, 7:09 AM EDT

Debby makes landfall in Florida

Hurricane Debby made landfall near Steinhatchee, Florida, on Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.

-ABC News’ Max Golembo

Aug 05, 2024, 5:20 AM EDT

Debby approaches landfall with 80 mph winds

Hurricane Debby is "very near" landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast, the National Hurricane Center said at 5 a.m. ET.

"Expected to bring life-threatening storm surge in portions of Florida and major flooding in the southeastern United States," the center said in an update.

Anna Davis and her son Paul Davis look out from the balcony of a hotel at the wind and rain kicked up by Hurricane Debby as it passes offshore on August 05, 2024, in Chiefland, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Category 1 storm had maximum sustained winds of an about 80 mph as it approached Big Bend, a northern area near the Panhandle, the center said.

-ABC News' Max Golembo and Kevin Shalvey

Aug 05, 2024, 2:44 AM EDT

Debby strengthens, with maximum sustained winds up to 80 mph

Hurricane Debby continued to strengthen, with maximum sustained winds rising to 80 mph, making it a Category 1 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite image taken at 11:11 p.m. ET shows Hurricane Debby approaching Florida on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024.
AP

More than 10 inches of rain fell on the west coast of Florida, around the Tampa Bay area, where water rescues have been on going near Clearwater. Significant flooding also has been reported in Fort Myers area.

Storm surge has been rising quickly now along the Big Bend area in Florida, from Cedar Key to Keaton Beach, where up to 10 feet of Gulf water could inundate the coastline. The storm is forecast to make landfall in that area on Monday morning.

-ABC News' Max Golembo

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