Florida, the Southeast and the Mid-Atlantic coast are all being battered by Tropical Storm Debby, and millions of people across the Northeast and New England are bracing for potentially life-threatening flooding as deadly storm forces are expected to batter inundated areas with torrential rains later this week.
The slow-moving storm made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane and moved slowly northeast, dumping record amounts of rain across the region, packing destructive wind gusts and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of utility customers.
At least five people were killed in Debby’s aftermath and countless drowning rescues were necessary as heavy rains and storm surges sent water into coastal communities from Florida to the Carolinas.
While tropical storm-force rains are still stalled and swirling off the South Carolina coast, preparations are underway hundreds of miles north in areas already hard hit by flooding over the past few weeks.
The Fox Forecast Center said Debby, which is quickly transitioning from a tropical storm to a subtropical depression, will begin moving through the inland Northeast on Friday.
The storm is still producing a lot of tropical moisture, which, combined with a weakened western jet stream, is expected to bring heavy rain from the central Appalachians through the interior Northeast and northern New England.
This is not good news for many areas, which remain waterlogged after heavy rains over the past few weeks.
An additional 3 to 5 inches of rain is possible across much of Pennsylvania and parts of New York state as the remnants of Debby move through the region through Sunday.
However, most areas are expected to get 2 to 3 inches of snow, with some areas seeing more.
Rainfall totals are expected to be higher in the south and lower in northern areas.
As a result, NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) announced Friday that more than 8 million residents from Pennsylvania to Vermont are at risk of a Level 3 flood risk out of a possible 4-point scale.
Level 3 zones include cities such as Scranton in Pennsylvania, Syracuse, Binghamton and Albany in New York and Burlington in Vermont.
New York City and Philadelphia are under a Level 2 flood risk after experiencing heavy rain, flooding and severe weather on Tuesday.
Parts of New York City experienced severe flooding along highways and roads Tuesday evening after severe thunderstorms passed through.
And that was day two of extreme weather in the Northeast.
A water tornado touched down in downtown Buffalo, New York, on Monday, causing damage across the city.
Police said the tornado damaged several buildings and knocked out power to traffic lights, but no one was injured.
After an initial investigation, the National Weather Service in Buffalo confirmed the tornado was rated EF-1 on the Modified Fujita Scale with maximum wind speeds of 90 mph.
The tornado swirled on land at Interstate 190 and Niagara Avenue, coming to rest near Tupper and Oak Streets.
Further north, residents in Vermont are holding their breath and hoping for the best after several devastating floods in July.
A flash flood emergency was issued in Vermont in late July after heavy rains caused rivers and streams to flow into areas including St. Johnsbury and Lyndonville.
More than eight inches of rain was reported in St. Johnsbury overnight, causing flooding that washed away homes, bridges and roads throughout the area.
