Forecasters are warning of serious flooding in parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina this week as the storm moves along the coast.
As Tropical Storm Debby moves inland off the Gulf of Mexico this week, it is expected to bring intense rainfall and flooding across northern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
After making landfall on Monday, the storm is expected to slow significantly and then meander over the Southeast, pounding the region with “potentially historic” amounts of rainfall, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The National Weather Service forecast a rare high risk of excessive rain for the region.
Widespread flash flooding and river flooding are expected, with 10 to 20 inches of rainfall along the coast. Some areas could get up to 30 inches of rainfall through Friday morning.
The most intense rainfall is expected to spread over the area Monday night into Tuesday.
“We’re going to be into a catastrophic rain situation,” Kevin Guthrie, the executive director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, said at a news conference on Sunday.
To the east of where the storm makes landfall in Florida, six to 12 inches of rainfall could drop. As the storm drifts inland, it will move slowly, saturating its path and drawing moisture off the Atlantic Ocean before streaming it into the low country of South Carolina and Georgia.
“The heaviest rainfall is likely to remain closer to the coast,” said forecasters with the Weather Service in Charleston, S.C. Extreme flooding could affect areas from Savannah, Ga., to Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The actual rainfall totals will largely depend on whether Debby shifts offshore into the Atlantic on Tuesday, where it could restrengthen before moving back inland.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
