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

Debby will exit the Northeast on Saturday.

ByBill Hutchinson, Kevin Shalvey, Emily Shapiro, and Meredith Deliso
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, 4:17 PM EDT

Latest forecast

Debby is moving inland across north Florida Monday afternoon after dumping more than 1 foot of rain in the state.

High winds, rain and storm surge from Hurricane Debby inundate a neighborhood on Aug. 05, 2024, in Cedar Key, Fla.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Tornadoes are possible Monday night in the coastal cities of Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina.

The biggest concern this week is flash flooding from the widespread, relentless rain. A flash flood emergency remains in effect in Suwannee County, Florida, northwest of Gainesville, where 10 to 15 inches of rain has fallen so far.

View of a flooded street, while Hurricane Debby affects the Gulf coast in Steinhatchee, Fla., Aug. 5, 2024.
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters

Debby will slowly churn into southeastern Georgia throughout Monday afternoon and evening. Through the night, the storm will be focused on Jacksonville, Florida; Savannah; and southern South Carolina.

-ABC News’ Dan Peck

Aug 05, 2024, 3:58 PM EDT

More than 1,700 flights canceled

More than 1,700 flights have been canceled within, into or out of the U.S. on Monday, and that number is expected to continue to climb.

American Airlines is seeing the biggest impacts because of its hubs in Miami and Charlotte, North Carolina.

A small residential lake just east of Tyrone Park on 18th Avenue N on Aug. 5, 2024 in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Press Wire via Shutterstock

American Airlines said it canceled operations at airports in Gainesville, Sarasota and Tallahassee until noon on Monday.

Sunday was one of the worst air travel days of the year with more than 2,400 cancellations.

Aug 05, 2024, 1:30 PM EDT

Flash flood emergency issued in Suwannee County, Florida

A flash flood emergency has been issued in Suwannee County in north Florida, northwest of Gainesville, where officials are reporting that water is entering structures.

Ten to 15 inches of rain has inundated the county so far and another 3 to 6 inches of rain is expected.

-ABC News’ Dan Peck

Aug 05, 2024, 12:47 PM EDT

Biden briefed on storm

President Joe Biden was briefed Monday morning on the administration’s ongoing response to Debby, according to a White House official.

On Saturday, Biden approved Florida’s request for an emergency declaration and deployed rescue personnel, meals and water, the official said.

The Biden administration is in touch with officials from Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has deployed staff to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina as the storm moves north, the official said.

High winds, rain and storm surge from Hurricane Debby inundate a neighborhood on Aug. 5, 2024, in Cedar Key, Fla.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

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