Important Takeaways:
- Tornadoes spawned by Tropical Storm Debby leveled homes, damaged a school and killed one person early Thursday, as the system dropped heavy rain and flooded communities across North and South Carolina.
- One person was found dead in a home damaged by the Lucama tornado, Wilson County spokesman Stephen Mann said in an email.
- North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said at a briefing Thursday that the state has activated more National Guard troops and added additional vehicles that can rescue people in floods as rains from Debby keep drenching the state.
- The National Hurricane Center said Debby made a second landfall early Thursday near Bulls Bay, South Carolina — about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Charleston. Debby first made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday on the Gulf Coast of Florida.
- A state of emergency was in effect for both North Carolina and Virginia. Maryland issued a state of preparedness declaration that coordinates preparations without declaring an emergency.
- At least seven people have died due to the storm.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Threat level: The National Weather Service forecast office in Charleston, S.C., summarized the threat in a discussion Monday night: “Historic and catastrophic flooding through mid-week.”
- Forecasters are calling for this storm to meet or beat past four-day rainfall totals from the biggest events, which would mean upward of 17 inches in the Charleston area.
- Tropical Storm Debby moving at five miles per hour or less at times
- The storm’s center is forecast to move back over the ocean, allowing the system to re-intensify to some extent over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream Tuesday and Tuesday night.
- The center is forecast to then slingshot back over land in northeastern South Carolina on Thursday morning
- How it works: The storm is moving slowly in an area without much upper-level wind, so it’s not being pushed by anything. It’s spinning around like a top, waiting for something to move it again.
- What they’re saying: “[Storm] Impacts will be widespread and severe, likely including numerous flooded homes and structures, damage to roadways including washouts, and unprecedented flooding along creeks and streams,” forecasters at NWS Charleston stated Monday evening, continuing the drumbeat of similar wording from earlier in the day.
Read the original article by clicking here.
