Tropical Storm Debby: Flooding in Eastern North Carolina, rain expected in Western NC

Key advisories around Tropical Storm Debby have been issued Wednesday morning, Aug. 7, at 5 a.m. by the National Weather Service. The Carolinas are already seeing warnings and watches related to Debby.

NWS advisories are still calling for flooding impacts from heavy rainfall persisting through Thursday. The Piedmont of the Carolinas, portions of the Mid-Atlantic States and Vermont were all mentioned as likely areas for considerable flooding impact.

Tropical storm conditions are expected to spread north along the southeast coast from South Carolina to North Carolina through Thursday, with warnings and watches in effect for many areas within. Storm surge is possible and potentially dangerous along the coast of S.C. and southeastern regions of N.C. from South Santee River to Cape Fear.

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NC coast Debby impacts

Currently, the Wilmington area is under a tropical storm warning. An 8 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center said that Tropical Storm Debby was located 50 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and about 90 miles east of Savannah, Georgia. Maximum sustained winds are at 45 mph.

The Brunswick County coast is also under a storm surge watch for the next 48 hours - this means a possibility of "life-threatening inundation" due to rising water moving inland from the coastline.

Flooding has already affected areas of the N.C. coast. The Wilmington StarNews reported this morning that areas of the Cape Fear region had already seen over 4 inches of rain due to Debby, with road flooding reported in several areas of Brunswick County. As of 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, highest rainfall reported in the region was 4.24 inches in Calabash, with other areas seeing closer to 1-3 inches.

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Will Tropical Storm Debby impact Asheville, Western NC?

NWS Meteorologist Trisha Palmer told the Citizen Times that the Asheville area may see some heavy rain tonight, Aug. 7, as one of the main effects of Debby.

"For the heaviest rain, mostly we're looking along the I-77 corridor in areas east of I-26," Palmer said.

She added that the Western Piedmont, escarpment areas and northern mountains could see some heavier rain around Thursday afternoon which will move out in the evening.

Currently, Palmer said that NWS predictions put Asheville at about 1.5 inches of rain. In the Grandfather Mountain area, around 3.5 inches are predicted. Palmer said that this represents a clear pattern of precipitation resulting from Debby's location.

"The further east you go, those numbers ramp up pretty quickly," Palmer said. "So, for the Hickory area, we had just under 4 inches. So, there's a pretty tight gradient between there along the escarpment."

As for wind, WNC naturally won't see anything like the tropical force expected on the coast. Altitude comes into play to a degree, but Palmer said that rain is the main concern.

"It'll be breezy, especially on the mountaintops," Palmer said. "So, gusting 20 to 25. And then, you know, if you go up on top of Mount Mitchell, probably gusting 30, maybe 35. But this is not going to be a big wind event for us."

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Tropical Storm Debby movement

The Hurricane Center expects Tropical Storm Debby to make landfall along the S.C. coast Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. As noted, Debby was 50 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and about 90 miles east of Savannah, Georgia, moving east around 5 mph. Slower motion toward north and north-northwest is expected today, Aug. 7.

While strengthening is possible before Debby's center reaches the S.C. coast, weakening is forecast to begin Thursday after the center moves inland. Debby is expected to merge with a frontal boundary over the U.S. Mid-Atlantic on Friday.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles from the center.

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Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Tropical Storm Debby: Flooding in Eastern North Carolina, rain expected in Western NC