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 08, 2024, 2:31 AM EDT

Debby makes 2nd landfall in South Carolina

Tropical Storm Debby made a second landfall early on Thursday, moving over South Carolina after regaining some strength over the Atlantic.

A woman uses her phone to capture images from the pier as Tropical Storm Debby drifts in the East Coast, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, U.S., August 7, 2024.
Marco Bello/Reuters

The storm made its landfall near Bulls Bay, a coastal about 20 miles northeast of Charleston, bringing with it a major flood treat, the National Hurricane Center said.

Maximum sustained winds were at about 50 mph as the storm hit land, weather officials said.

Aug 07, 2024, 11:40 PM EDT

Storm still 60 mph as it crosses South Carolina coast

As of 11 p.m. ET, the center of Tropical Storm Debby is about to cross the coast of South Carolina. It will likely cross in the next few hours.

ABC News
ABC News

The storm's strength has remained unchanged, with maximum sustained winds remaining at 60 mph.

A Tropical Storm Warning continues from Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to Surf City, North Carolina.

ABC News
ABC News

Debby is currently located 25 miles east-northeast of Charleston, South Carolina and crawling at 3 mph toward the north-northwest.

A Tornado Watch remains in effect for parts of coastal North Carolina.

-ABC News Meteorologist Melissa Griffin

Aug 07, 2024, 6:12 PM EDT

Debby's winds at 60 mph as it drifts off South Carolina coast

Debby has sustained winds of 60 mph as it drifts roughly 85 miles off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, moving at 3 mph.

The tropical storm is expected to make landfall again late Wednesday into early Thursday morning near Myrtle Beach.

The storm is expected to bring significant to catastrophic flooding, with flood watches and warnings covering much of the Carolinas. The high risk for excessive rainfall stretches from North Carolina into southern Virginia on Thursday.

A tornado watch is also in effect until 11 p.m. ET Wednesday for eastern North and South Carolina, where spin-up tornadoes are possible.

-ABC News' Daniel Amarante

Aug 07, 2024, 12:14 PM EDT

When Debby is forecast to make its 2nd landfall

Tropical Storm Debby -- currently sitting off shore of Charleston, South Carolina -- is forecast to make a second landfall Wednesday night between Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Another 6 inches of rain is possible for the Carolinas over the next 24 hours before Debby exits the region. A rare “high risk” for flash flooding is ongoing for the Carolinas, including the cities of Myrtle Beach, Wilmington and Raleigh.

A view of flooded beachfront houses yards in Isle of Palms, S.C., Aug. 6, 2024.
Marco Bello/Reuters

By Thursday afternoon, Debby will begin to move north. By Friday, the storm will bring heavy rain and potentially flooding to Virginia, and then will reach the Northeast and New England.

-ABC News' Melissa Griffin

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