Debby, now a tropical storm, roared ashore Monday along the Big Bend coast of Florida, killing at least four people, flooding streets, and causing widespread power outages as the storm roared toward Georgia and South Carolina, where it's expected to bring catastrophic flooding this week.
"Tornadoes, catastrophic flash and urban flooding, coastal flooding, rip currents, strong gusty winds are all expected,'' in parts of the Southeast over the next several days, the National Weather Service said.
An apparent tornado touched down on Edisto Beach, South Carolina after 9:30 p.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service in Charleston. There were multiple reports of structures damaged on Edisto Beach and across the river from Edisto Island from the radar-confirmed tornado, the weather service said.
Other popular beach destinations, including Kiawah Island and Johns Island, were being warned of possible tornado activity as additional severe storms moved onshore.
Debby, the fourth named storm of what is predicted to be a historic hurricane season, made landfall Monday at 7 a.m. near the coastal town of Steinhatchee as a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Steinhatchee, about 70 miles west of Gainesville and home to some 500 people, is just 10 miles from where Hurricane Idalia came ashore last year.
After more than three hours moving across northern Florida, Debby was downgraded to a tropical storm with sustained winds of 70 mph, the hurricane center said in its 11 a.m. ET update. By 11 p.m., the winds had diminished to 45 mph, though the storm was still dropping copious amounts of rain.
State officials reported widespread flooding and inundating storm surge as Debby moved inland. The storm's winds uprooted trees and toppled utility poles, knocking out power to more than 250,000 homes and businesses throughout northern Florida. Forecasters said Debby's powerful winds could also spawn tornadoes, and storm surge could reach 10 feet in some areas.
Debby is projected to move slowly across northern Florida before unleashing "potentially historic heavy rainfall" across the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, according to the Weather Prediction Center.
Widespread rainfall totals of 10-20 inches are expected from northern Florida to southeastern North Carolina, while parts of northern Georgia and South Carolina, including Charleston, could get upward of 30 inches of rain through this weekend, Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center, said in a YouTube livestream.
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