Hurricane Debby Is Crawling Closer To The Carolinas – WCCB Charlotte’s CW

Debby made landfall as a category 1 hurricane along Florida’s Big Bend early Monday morning – near Steinhatchee, Florida. Sadly, at least 4 people have died as a result from this system so far.

As of the 5 PM advisory on Monday, Tropical Storm Debby has maximum sustained wind of 50 mph and is crawling northeast at 6 mph.

Debby is expected to bring nearly 2 feet of rain to parts of Georgia and South Carolina. This will bring widespread flash flooding that will be catastrophic and life threatening.

Local Impacts From Debby:

There will be a sharp rain total gradient across the area. As of Monday afternoon, rain totals span from 1” in the mountains to nearly 10” in Chesterfield county. IF the storm stalls a bit more westward, the rain totals will shift west as well. This means higher totals for more of our area. IF the storm stalls a bit more eastward, it is possible our rain chances will be lower.

Timing: We will see bands roll into our area on Tuesday, but not for everyone. The main timeline is late Wednesday through Saturday. Thursday and Friday will be our highest impact days.

Threats: Flooding is the main threat. Gusty winds are also possible. The tornado threat will be low, but not zero. Downed trees and power outages are possible.

Rain Totals:

Now – Wednesday: 0-0.50” north of I-85. 1-3” in Chesterfield county. Anson and Richmond could also see upwards of 2”.
Wednesday – Saturday:
– Mountains: 0.5”-2”
– Foothills: 1-3”
– Charlotte: 2-5”
– Southeast of Charlotte: 5-10”

Wind: We could see wind gusts up to 35 mph on Thursday, but most of the time our wind gusts will stay around 20-25 mph.