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The potential for dangerous flooding continues across portions of the Southeast as Tropical Storm Debby continues to slog across the region. The storm is expected to keep drenching South Carolina, even as it is forecast to move over the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday night before returning to the state Thursday.

The “potentially historic heavy rainfall” could result in areas of “catastrophic flooding,” <a href="https://x.com/NHC_Atlantic/status/1820944316606607567/photo/1" target=_blank>according</a> to the National Hurricane Center. By Friday and Saturday, the storm may fuel heavy rains as its moves north into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

As Tropical Storm Debby continues to crawl up the coast of the Southeastern United States, dropping heavy rainfall as it goes, communities in north Florida are already experiencing high water and bracing for major flooding from rising rivers and streams.

“Hurricane Debby’s rainfall brought historic flooding throughout the District,” said Troy Roberts, chief of communications and outreach for the Suwannee River Water Management District. “Some areas of the District received more than 12 inches of rain in less than a 24-hour period — localized heavier rainfall could have occurred in other areas — and we have seen moderate to major flooding around the region. Many of our roads are currently impassable and we’ve heard reports of many flooded homes in our counties.”

The district covers 15 mostly rural counties in north Florida where nearly a dozen rivers flow, including the Suwannee and the Santa Fe, two of the state’s best-known waterways.

Roberts said flooding risks will continue for five days or longer as Debby’s rainfall filters southward, adding to already rising rivers.

He said “the fear is that it is going to get worse,” especially along the Santa Fe river; they’re also closely watching the Suwannee River.

“Debby is dumping a bunch of rain in Georgia, and that really does not help us.”

Lori Rozsa

Satellite view of Tropical Storm Debby at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. (NOAA)

Debby is no longer landlocked but is poised to continue drenching South Carolina, even as it moves over the Atlantic Ocean. And, in a little more than a day, it will return to land, and rain and wind may intensify.

The National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. update said that the center of Tropical Storm Debby is right along the coast at the Georgia-South Carolina border, or 10 miles east of Savannah, Ga.

The tropical rainstorm has nearly come to a halt, with a forward speed of just 3 mph.

Debby is forecast to slowly move over the Atlantic on Tuesday night before returning to South Carolina on Thursday. Some strengthening is possible once the storm is over water again, but “re-intensification is likely to be limited,” the Hurricane Center said, because it will not move far enough east to tap into the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.

Still, the Hurricane Center predicts its peak winds will increase from 40 to 60 mph while over the water.

“Tropical storm conditions will spread northward along the southeast U.S. coast from northeastern Georgia to North Carolina through Thursday,” the Hurricane Center wrote.

As the storm meanders offshore, it will continue to generate heavy rain bands that will spiral onshore bringing downpours, especially to eastern South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina, where “catastrophic flooding” is possible, the Hurricane Center said. When the storm comes back inland Thursday, the rain is forecast to spread to the north and west while an ocean surge of up to several feet is expected along the coast.

By Friday and Saturday, the storm should gain speed as it’s drawn north into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. But it will continue to be a prolific rain-producer. “Considerable flooding impacts” are expected, the Hurricane Center said.

Jason Samenow

After Debby stalled over Georgia and South Carolina through Wednesday last week, there had been some question as to whether the jet stream would then pull the tropical storm northward into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, or if the storm would get left behind to rain itself out over the Southeast. However, confidence has increased that Debby is likely to track up the coast.

Confidence is now fairly high that Debby’s core will move northward into the Mid-Atlantic later Thursday into Friday, and then through the Northeast and New England on Friday into Saturday. Around 3 to 7 inches of rain is possible for a large swath from Virginia to Massachusetts, including the Interstate 95 corridor from D.C. to Boston, although it is uncertain where the heaviest rain will fall.

That includes some potentially heavy rain late Tuesday into Wednesday in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, southern New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts — including Philadelphia, New York City and Boston — indirectly connected to Debby.

The heavy rain could cause areas of flooding, especially in poor drainage areas. Although they could change, here are the predicted rainfall amounts through Sunday morning from a blend of models for several major metropolitan areas:

Dan Stillman

Tropical Storm Debby

At least six people have died in Florida and Georgia after Debby made landfall as a hurricane in Florida’s Big Bend on Monday morning, officials said, warning people in the area to stay safe.

A 13-year-old boy was killed after a tree fell onto a mobile home in Levy County, Fla., the sheriff’s office <a href="https://levyso.com/hurricane-debby-fatality-in-levy-county/" target=_blank>confirmed</a> Monday. “We encourage everyone to use extreme caution as they begin to assess and clean up the damage,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “Downed powerlines and falling trees are among the many hazards. One life is too many. Please be safe.”

The driver of a semi-truck died after the vehicle overturned and fell into a canal off Interstate 75 in the state’s Hillsborough County. Dive crews worked to recover the truck and the driver, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HCSOSheriff/videos/530559629315147" target=_blank>said</a> on social media.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) confirmed in a Monday afternoon news conference that two people had died in a traffic accident in Dixie County. “That’s obviously very tragic,” DeSantis said, adding, “We do think, though, that Floridians’ heeding the call of being careful, particularly on the roads, has reduced what would otherwise have been.”

A driver in Bradford County, Fla., died after the vehicle went off the roadway into a water-filled ditch during heavy rain and wind, according to William Pellan, director of investigations for the Alachua County medical examiner.

As Debby shifted northward, the storm led to the death of a 19-year-old man in Moultrie, Ga. — a city about 175 miles south of Atlanta. He was pronounced dead at 3:40 p.m. after a pine tree crashed into his porch, Colquitt County Coroner C. Verlyn Brock (R) told The Washington Post.

“That Tropical Storm Debby is the one that’s come through here spreading all her evil things,” Brock said. “That’s what happened to us today, and I hope there are no more deaths.”

Amudalat Ajasa

María Luisa Paúl

More than 115,000 customers are without power in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina because of the impacts of Debby, according to <a href="https://poweroutage.us/" target=_blank>Poweroutage.us</a>.

The bulk of outages remains in the Big Bend region where Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane. More than 100,000 customers in Florida woke up without power Tuesday morning.

Most residents in Jefferson County, Fla., are without power after the storm. Tri-County Electric Cooperative Inc., a utility provider in the area, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TriCountyElectricFlorida/" target=_blank>said</a> its preliminary assessment found 150 broken power lines across the region. The company said eight of its substations were impacted by transmission line damage.

As of 2 p.m.,  9,000 customers are without power in Madison County; over 11,700 are without power in Suwannee County; nearly 8,800 are without power in Jefferson County; about 7,700 are without power in Taylor County; and about 10,800 customers remain without power in Columbia County.

The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sveccoop/posts/pfbid02CdLbYqeEYMq16Jf5zUAYGBN3nEhum7tb4PE2pxp1q84gqPNtRR8kMFUdo83TJ9Ckl" target=_blank>Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative</a> had 271 crew members working to restore power in the region. It is expecting an additional 215 workers to help with restoration efforts later Tuesday.

As Tropical Storm Debby moves north into southeastern Georgia and southeastern South Carolina, heavy rain and wind continue to cause power issues for the area. More than 11,700 customers are without power across Georgia.

As of 11:30 a.m., Georgia Power Co., the largest utility in the state, had restored power to more than 100,000 customers, the company said in a <a href="https://www.georgiapower.com/company/news-hub/weather-safety/georgia-power-continues-response-to-tropical-storm-debby.html" target=_blank>statement</a>.

More than 9,000 customers in South Carolina are without power as the storm moves into the state, inundating the region with prolific rain. Duke Energy, a utility company supplying electricity to residents in South Carolina and North Carolina, <a href="https://x.com/DukeEnergy/status/1820889391717388576" target=_blank>said</a> it plans to have more than 6,900 workers available to respond to the storm as it moves through the Carolinas.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Damon Black bought his house more than a year ago and has already seen about five significant flooding instances in his low-lying neighborhood on the city’s peninsula.

He and his family knew there would be risks. But even so, he said, “We were surprised just how often we’d be dealing with this.”

Black, his wife, Donna Hintson, and their 13-year-old son, Nate, have pre-flooding preparations down to a routine. They spent the weekend moving whatever they could from their first floor to their second floor. They pulled up all the rugs. They put anything on the floor on top of tables.

The family has no choice but to leave some items to chance.

“We’ve got a very heavy leather couch that we were very lucky to get into the house,” said Black, who relocated with his family to Charleston from Charlotte. “We’re not moving that.”

Planning in advance became key after a major storm in December caught the trio by surprise. Rugs were destroyed. As the water kept rising, they waited out flooding on the second floor. The damage cost a few thousand dollars, Black said.

Hintson and Nate have decamped with their two longhair dachshunds, Polly and Poppy, to a hotel downtown. But Black is taking care of the house.

If the water gets to a certain level, he’d have to shut off the electricity.

He wouldn’t trade living in Charleston for anything, he said, but the specter of floods is ever-present.

“It’s virtually just a constant existential fear we have throughout the year,” said Black.

Ruby Mellen

The hot and dry summer in the D.C. area is about to be broadsided with a big bout of rain. A cold front moving into the area Tuesday and Wednesday will meet moisture from Tropical Storm Debby to deliver substantial rainfall coming in multiple waves.

The National Weather Service is predicting about 3 to 5 inches across much of our region, but locally higher and lower amounts are possible. The chance of rain will gradually increase as the workweek progresses, but flooding downpours are possible as soon as Tuesday night, especially north of the District.

The most substantial slug of rain is probable Friday into Saturday as the center of Debby’s remnant circulation moves through.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2024/08/06/dc-debby-forecast-rain-drought/?itid=lk_inline_manual_65" target=_blank>Read the full story</a>

Ian Livingston

At 2 p.m., the National Hurricane Center reported that Debby was 10 miles southeast of Savannah, Ga., and very near the coast. It was crawling to the east-northeast at 5 mph, with peak winds of 40 mph. The storm is expected to move offshore by tonight, where it is forecast to slowly intensify before drifting back ashore Wednesday night or Thursday.

More than 110,000 customers remained without power in Florida, a day after Debby hit the state as a Category 1 hurricane.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said the worst hit is rural Jefferson County, east of Tallahassee, where 99 percent of customers still had no electricity Tuesday morning. Debby brought more rain than it did wind, DeSantis said.

While it wasn’t as destructive as Category 3 Hurricane Idalia last August, it traveled on a nearly identical path and struck many of the same communities.

“Idalia did serious, serious damage to a lot of people’s residences,” DeSantis said. “To then have another storm come through as you’re still picking up the pieces, even if it wasn’t as powerful, that’s like salt in the wound, and it can be demoralizing.”

WeatherBell

A localized, but potentially significant, rainfall event is possible late Tuesday into Wednesday for the greater Philadelphia and New York City metro areas.

The National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center has drawn a Level 3 out of 4 risk zone for flash flooding and excessive rainfall for portions of the northern Mid-Atlantic and tri-state area on Tuesday. The zone includes Harrisburg, Pa., as well as Philadelphia and New York City. D.C., Baltimore and Hartford are in a Level 2 risk zone.

NOAA/NWS

The concern is over something called a PRE, or a predecessor rain event. That’s when a tropical system’s moisture — in this case, Debby’s — precedes it, interacting with other weather features to unleash torrential downpours.

“NYers are encouraged to prepare for heavy rainfall &amp; thunderstorms today into tomorrow afternoon,” the city’s emergency alerting agency said on <a href="https://x.com/NotifyNYC/status/1820773698523038041" target=_blank>X</a>. “During periods of heavy rain causing flooding, move to higher ground.”

A stalled front, with cooler air north and warmer air south, will be present from west of D.C. to near New York City. Debby’s moisture will pool along it, enhancing downpours and allowing a few storms to produce rainfall rates approaching 3 inches of rain per hour.

It’s unclear where downpours will train, or move repeatedly over the same areas, or if they will at all. If they do, a few areas could wind up with 4 to 6 inches of rain in just a couple of hours. Otherwise, 1 to 3 inches of rain is probable.

The greatest risk is north of the Mason-Dixon Line northeast along the Interstate 95 corridor into southwest Connecticut, including several major metropolitan hubs prone to flooding. A flood watch is in effect for the region.

In addition, some of the thunderstorms affecting this area could be severe, with damaging winds and large hail. The Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center has placed much of central Pennsylvania in a Level 3 out of 5 risk zone for severe storms. An isolated tornado is also possible.

Downpours may linger into Wednesday morning. Pockets of flooding, perhaps locally significant, are possible.

Additional heavy rain is expected in this region as Debby’s remnants get pulled northward heading into the weekend.

Matthew Cappucci

Meteorologists revised a key hurricane season forecast slightly downward Tuesday but warned that storm patterns over the next few months will nonetheless be “extremely active.”

Colorado State University hurricane forecasters had <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2024/04/04/atlantic-hurricane-season-forecast/?itid=lk_inline_manual_88" target=_blank>predicted near-record tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic basin</a> this year, with as many as 25 named storms. After a recent lull in tropical weather — which Debby has ended — they updated their forecast to call for as many as 23 storms.

But their predictions for hurricane activity and the development of “major” hurricanes of Category 3 or greater remain unchanged: As many as a dozen hurricanes are likely to form, and half could become major storms.

“We anticipate a well above-average probability for major hurricane landfalls along the continental United States coastline and in the Caribbean,” they wrote Tuesday. “As with all hurricane seasons, coastal residents are reminded that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — which predicted 17 to 25 named storms, including eight to 13 hurricanes — is expected to update its predictions soon. Tropical cyclones get a name when they have maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph; hurricanes have sustained winds of at least 74 mph.

The revised forecast underscores that, despite tranquil weather in the tropics for most of July, the heart of hurricane season from August into early October could be especially dangerous. Record or near-record heat persists across Atlantic waters, providing energy to feed storms, and the likelihood of an imminent La Niña global climate pattern is expected to produce favorable atmospheric wind patterns for storm development.

In 2005, the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, there were 28 named storms and seven major hurricanes, including Hurricane Katrina.

Scott Dance

Susan Lyons bought her beloved 120-year-old home 20 years ago in the midst of a drought. Now, nearly every time it rains at her house in downtown Charleston, on the western side of the peninsula, her yard fills up with water. Tuesday was no exception.

The advocate for Groundswell — a Charleston-based grass-roots organization focused on threats from flooding — peered out her window and found most of her garden completely submerged.

Lyons, 81, was visiting friends in Connecticut but raced back here last night to be with her 6-year-old collie, Maggie, throughout the storm.

“I looked at things on Sunday morning,” she said. “And I knew what was coming.”

A friend picked her up from the airport in their sturdy truck, whisking her to her doorstep 20 minutes before the curfew began at 11 p.m.

Lyons said she will wait out the storm inside. She canceled her local meetings, and her car has been parked in a city garage since Sunday to keep it off the flooded streets.

“This storm seems particularly unpredictable,” she said.

Through Thursday, Debby will meander near the South Carolina coast, probably drifting out to sea for a time, perhaps garnering a bit more strength and then shuffling inland again.

Since it is spinning counterclockwise, it will swirl copious moisture ashore. Feeder bands with torrential downpours, and rainfall rates at times exceeding 3 inches per hour, will continuously stream inland. They may shift slightly in tandem with the storm, and there will be gaps in between.

That means the potential for an additional 10 to 15 inches are forecast from Charleston to Wilmington, N.C. Add that atop a general 6 to 12 inches that has already fallen (9.04 inches in North Charleston) in coastal South Carolina, and it’s easy to see why some folks could see totals near 25 inches.

For coastal Georgia, another 4 to 8 inches are likely. Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport is already at 8.70 inches of rain (and climbing), and storm totals could well exceed a foot.

Lesser rainfall amounts are expected west of Interstate 95 in Georgia and the Carolinas, but the corridor from Columbia, S.C., to Raleigh could see 4 to 10 inches. Each city will walk a tightrope, with more rain just to the east and less to the west.

(NWS)

The National Weather Service has declared a high risk of excessive rainfall and flooding stretching from southeast Georgia to southeast North Carolina on Tuesday, in eastern South Carolina to southeast North Carolina on Wednesday, and from around Charleston to Raleigh on Thursday as the storm starts to shift northward. Charleston is in the high risk zone all three days.

By Friday and Saturday, the heaviest rains will shift north into the Mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast.

(NOAA)

Slow-moving Tropical Storm Debby continues to pose a “serious flood threat” as it meanders near the South Carolina coast, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 11 a.m. update.

The storm is centered 15 miles south of Savannah, Ga., and is crawling to the east and northeast at just 6 mph, toward the Atlantic Ocean.

“On the forecast track, the center of Debby is expected to move offshore the coast of Georgia later today and tonight, continue to drift offshore through early Thursday, and then move inland over South Carolina on Thursday,” the Hurricane Center wrote.

The storm’s peak winds are down to 40 mph, but it is forecast to gain strength when it moves over the ocean again. When it comes back ashore in South Carolina, it peak winds are projected to increase to 60 mph.

But the Hurricane Center continues to stress that “potentially historic heavy rainfall” over eastern South Carolina is the most significant concern.

“Debby is expected to produce potentially historic rainfall totals of 10 to 20 inches, with maximum amounts of 25 inches, bringing areas of catastrophic flooding across portions of the eastern half of South Carolina, and southeast North Carolina through Friday,” the Hurricane Center wrote.

The ocean surge — or rise in water above normally dry land at the coast — could also be “dangerous,” the Hurricane Center said. Storm surge and tropical storm alerts are in effect from the coast of southeast Georgia to southeast North Carolina.

Predicted surge. (NOAA)

The surge could reach up to 2 to 4 feet and will probably be highest late Wednesday into Thursday when Debby makes its second landfall, most likely around or just north of Charleston. The surge will be highest just to the north of where the storm center comes ashore, perhaps affecting areas around Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Wilmington, N.C.

After a night of pelting rain, thunder and tornado warnings, the streets of downtown Charleston, S.C., were empty Tuesday as the city braced for more historic rainfall. Storefronts were shuttered and sandbagged, and few vehicles were on the road.

The mayor’s office issued a curfew for the city’s peninsula from 11 p.m. Monday through Wednesday morning, closing most roads into the city center. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning until 12:30 p.m. for the area.

A <a href="https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0603.html" target=_blank>tornado watch</a> is in effect for eastern South Carolina and southeast North Carolina until 5 p.m. The watch area includes Charleston and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina and Wilmington, N.C. A few tornadoes could form within bands of heavy rain spiraling inland from the Atlantic Ocean.

NOAA/NHC

Tropical Storm Debby has slowed to a crawl — drifting over Savannah, Ga., at a forward speed of just 6 mph. That motion will take its center off the coast Tuesday afternoon or evening, at which point the storm may begin strengthening again over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. That will help boost the storm’s winds a little bit, as well as draw even more moisture ashore for prolific rains.

Maximum sustained winds are listed at 45 mph, through the bulk of those are focused offshore.

Debby will intensify as it drifts eastward over the Atlantic late Tuesday, but by Wednesday night it should turn back northward and come ashore again. By Friday, the National Hurricane Center expects the center to drift northward through North Carolina, and on Saturday morning, the low-pressure system should be centered near the nation’s capital.

It’s worth noting that the heaviest rains will occur to the east of the center, where onshore flow pumps moisture ashore and bands of downpours spiral inland.

On Sunday, the remnant low-pressure system will pass over New York City and New England. A broad 4 to 6 inches of rain is expected along the Interstate 95 corridor from Washington to Boston, with greater amounts locally. There might be a few 7- or 8-inch totals in eastern Pennsylvania or the lower Hudson Valley.

Radar view of rainfall from Tropical Storm Debby at 9:20 a.m. Tuesday. (RadarScope)

As Debby wobbles toward the Atlantic Ocean, its center remains landlocked over southeast Georgia. But much of the eastern half of the storm is over warm water, which is helping to feed heavy rain bands spiraling into South Carolina.

Flash flood warnings Tuesday morning stretch from south of Savannah, Ga., to north of Charleston, along the coast, then expand inland to areas about 20 to 30 miles east of Augusta, Ga., and Columbia, S.C. The area more or less traces where the most intense bands of rain from the tropical storm are feeding inland.

Between Savannah and Charleston, there have been <a href="https://www.weather.gov/source/crh/lsrmap.html?sid=tae" target=_blank>numerous reports of flooding</a> — including submerged roads, water entering buildings and high-water rescues.

“The greatest risk of significant to locally catastrophic impacts appears to be in the vicinity of the Charleston metro,” <a href="https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/metwatch/metwatch_mpd_multi.php?md=0817&yr=2024" target=_blank>wrote</a> the Weather Service in a technical discussion early Tuesday.

Over much of southern South Carolina, rainfall rates of 0.5 to 1 inch per hour are common within the larger rain shield northeast of the storm center. Areas that see heavier storms within the band could experience rainfall rates as high as 2 to 4 inches for brief periods. The heaviest activity should tend to drift north over time.

Flood watches extend from around Jacksonville through the eastern half of the Carolinas. Flood watches also are up from near Philadelphia to New York City, Long Island and southern New England, where a cold front mingling with moisture from Debby is forecast to lead to areas of excessive rainfall.

Hurricane Debby Heads Towards Florida's Big Bend Region

Tropical Storm Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane north of Steinhatchee, Fla., about 80 miles west of Gainesville. That’s just 20 miles south of where Hurricane Idalia hit Florida as a Category 3 storm less than a year ago.

Even before Debby hit land, the storm’s outer bands were bringing déjà vu to coastal towns from the Florida Keys up through Tampa Bay. The Sarasota Police Department posted photos of water rushing past damaged businesses. Photos and video shared on social media showed flooding outside stores and restaurants in Fort Myers Beach, which was decimated by Hurricane Ian in 2022.

In Cedar Key, a number of businesses inundated by floodwater during Idalia had recently begun to reopen. The island community known as “Clamelot” is in the Gulf of Mexico and produces most of Florida’s clams. Residents were assessing the damage and beginning to clean up once again Monday.

“They just finished the final repairs on our post office last Friday, and it got flooded,” said Phil Prescott, a volunteer chaplain for the town’s police and fire departments. Cedar Key’s only grocery store reopened in March, and he said it also flooded.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/08/05/hurricane-debby-florida-flooding-idalia-ian/?itid=lk_inline_manual_152" target="_blank">Read the full story</a>

As of 8 a.m., Debby had peak winds of 45 mph and was centered about 20 miles southwest of Savannah, Ga. It was crawling toward the northeast at 6 mph. On this track, <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT4+shtml/061158.shtml" target=_blank>the National Hurricane Center said</a>, Debby should move over the Atlantic Ocean off the Georgia coast later today but will potentially strengthen some over the water before returning inland in South Carolina on Thursday.

The rainfall footprint from Debby is large and growing larger. Totals of 6 to 12 inches, with some locally higher amounts up to 18 inches, have been common along Florida’s west coast, then northward to near the border with Georgia. Another zone of similar rainfall totals has set up over the Georgia-South Carolina border area around Savannah north to around Charleston.

In Florida, Sarasota posted its wettest day on record Sunday, with about a foot of rain, and about that much fell to the northwest of Gainesville, in Suwannee County, where a flash flood emergency was declared Monday.

Here are <a href="https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/discussions/nfdscc4.html" target=_blank>some</a> of the <a href="https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/map/?obs=true&basemap=OpenStreetMap&boundaries=true,false&obs_popup=true" target=_blank>most significant totals</a> thus far, and a lot more is probably on the way from Georgia into the Carolinas:

Lakewood Ranch, Fla. (northeast of Sarasota): 16.56 inches

Hutchinson Island, S.C. (northeast of Hilton Head): 10.63 inches

US-DEBBY-WEATHER-CRIME-DRUG

Debby blew packages of cocaine worth over $1 million onto a beach in the Florida Keys after making landfall as a hurricane in Florida on Monday, a U.S. Border Patrol official said.

Twenty-five packages of cocaine, weighing 70 pounds, blew onto the beach and were discovered by a “Good Samaritan” who contacted authorities, acting chief patrol agent Samuel Briggs II said Monday in a <a href="https://x.com/USBPChiefMIP/status/1820458017386647772?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1820458017386647772%7Ctwgr%5E2d522ed4cfd2b00734cec8bf34476e4119272070%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2Fweather%2Flive-news%2Fhurricane-debby-storm-08-05-24%2Findex.html" target=_blank>tweet</a>. “U.S. Border Patrol seized the drugs, which have a street value of over $1 million,” Briggs said.

Florida is known as a hub for drug trafficking, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs5/5169/overview.htm#:~:text=Various%20DTOs%20and%20criminal%20groups,distributors%20of%20MDMA%20in%20Florida." target="_blank">especially from South America</a>, and it’s not unheard of for people to discover drugs in unusual places. Last year, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor (D) and her family <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/08/10/tampa-mayor-cocaine-fishing-jane-castor/?itid=lk_inline_manual_165" target="_blank">found bundles of cocaine</a> floating in the water while on a fishing trip in the Florida Keys.

It’s also not the first time a major storm has caused things to end up where they shouldn’t. Last year, <a href="https://www.phillyvoice.com/flamingos-pennsylvania-franklin-county-hurricane-idalia/" target=_blank>flamingos were spotted as far north as Pennsylvania</a>, and experts said the birds probably got swept up by Hurricane Idalia, ending up hundreds of miles away from their native Florida.

Annabelle Timsit

Charleston, S.C., can flood even on sunny days. Now, the city is bracing for what meteorologists warned could be one of its wettest stretches on record over the next three days.

The National Weather Service said “potentially historic rainfall” is likely to produce “catastrophic” flooding in some parts of coastal South Carolina. At Charleston International Airport, the Weather Service said 2.29 inches of rain had already fallen as of Monday afternoon, breaking a record for the date.

The Weather Service forecasts a widespread 10 to 20 inches of rainfall across the South Carolina coast, with as much as 30 inches possible in an area stretching from Charleston to Hilton Head Island.

That had residents flocking to pick up sandbags as early as Sunday. Residents were also filling up some city parking garages to keep their vehicles out of flood-prone areas as the rain began to fall. Some roads were already closed, and police warned drivers to avoid floodwaters that were already covering some thoroughfares.

Charleston is in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, a region of rivers, estuaries and marshes that extends southward to the Savannah River and the Georgia state line. It has always been a city vulnerable to storms.

But sea level rise has made it even more so — Charleston’s average sea level has risen by seven inches since 2010, four times as fast as during the previous 30 years, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2024/southern-us-sea-level-rise-risk-cities/?itid=lk_inline_manual_174" target=_blank>according to a Washington Post analysis</a> of accelerating sea level rise across the South.

Seas are rising faster than ever because of human-caused global warming, the result of fossil fuel emissions and the greenhouse effect. Not only is that warming melting ice sheets, but it also causes water to expand.

Minor floods that occurred in Charleston only a handful of times a year from the 1920s through the 1970s have over the past decade hit dozens of times every year, according to Weather Service <a href="https://www.weather.gov/chs/coastalflood" target=_blank>data</a>. That includes flooding that hit a record 89 times — nearly one out of every four days — in 2019.

Eight months ago, the city endured its fourth-deepest flood on record when <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/12/18/east-coast-storm-winds-flooding-outages/?itid=lk_inline_manual_178" target="_blank">a storm churned up the East Coast</a>. Waters rose more than 4 feet above an average high tide benchmark, behind the floods caused by three historic hurricanes: Hugo in 1989, the South Carolina hurricane of 1940 and Irma in 2017.

Flood dangers continue as Debby continues trek through Southeast U.S.

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