Tracking Tropical Storm Debby: Heavy rains, strong winds to impact New England

All eyes are on Tropical Storm Debby as she spins just off the South Carolina coastline and eventually tracks up and over the East Coast of the United States through this weekend.

Debby hasn’t thrown too many surprises at us but the latest update from the National Hurricane Center did indicate an increase in her sustained winds from 45 mph to 60 mph.  Debby will make landfall Wednesday night along the South Carolina coast and is expected to weaken somewhat over the next 12-24 hours as the storm passes over land.

The latest forecasted track still keeps the center of the storm well inland as it travels north over the next couple of days, eventually centered somewhere over upstate New York or northern Vermont by early Saturday morning.  In terms of impacts from Debby, the main concern will be heavy rain producing flooding across the interior of New England.

Closer to the storms current forecasted path, 2 to 4 inches or more is expected across much of Vermont into northern New Hampshire and Maine, lesser amounts in the order of 1 to 2 further east of the track, though the threat for localized flooding will still be on the table with some renegade showers possibly producing a bit more. 

Winds will briefly gust over 30 mph Friday night into Saturday morning as the storm’s center moves through the region, with some higher gusts possible embedded in downpours. An isolated tornado may spin up as well.  There is still a little wiggle room in the forecast, so please keep checking in as we bring you all the latest updates!