Storm Debby Continues to Sweep Across the United States, Washington D.C. Issues Flash Flood Warning

Storm “Debby” continues to bring more severe weather to the United States. On Friday, August 9th, “Debby” swept through the eastern part of the country. Prior to Friday evening, the risk of excessive rainfall and flooding was highest from central Pennsylvania to northern New York. The Washington D.C. area also issued flash flood warnings.

Flood warnings and alerts have been issued from Georgia to New Hampshire. Tornado warnings from northeastern Maryland to southern New York will continue into Friday afternoon in the eastern part of the country. Multiple tornadoes have occurred in the Mid-Atlantic region since Thursday.

“Debby” made landfall in Florida as a hurricane on Monday, August 5th. So far, it has caused at least 8 fatalities, flooding of over a hundred rivers, and inundation of several towns. Earlier on Friday, the storm center passed through the border of Virginia and West Virginia, ultimately speeding up and possibly sweeping through upper New York, northern New England, and southern Quebec on Saturday, August 10th.

According to information from PowerOutage.us, as of the time of reporting, many states in the U.S. still had a significant number of customers affected by power outages: 196,709 customers in Ohio, 46,322 in Pennsylvania, 26,296 in Virginia, 22,102 in Maryland, and 12,687 in North Carolina.

Rainfall in the vast area from Florida to North Carolina has reached 10 to 15 inches (25 to 38 centimeters), with even higher amounts in certain areas. Sarasota, Florida recorded 17.78 inches of rainfall.

The severe weather around the Washington D.C. area has resulted in hundreds of flight delays and over a dozen cancellations.

According to FlightAware data, by midday on Friday, about 500 flights passing through the DMV area were delayed.

Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport had at least 180 delayed flights; Reagan National Airport had at least 250 delayed flights; Dulles International Airport had over 70 delayed flights.

As the remnants of “Debby” continue to disrupt the region, the number of affected flights may increase. Reagan National Airport stated on social media that flights at the airport were delayed due to the severe storms in the area.

Tornado warnings have been issued for Baltimore and Philadelphia. Flash flood warnings for the Washington D.C. area and its surrounding regions will continue until 11 a.m. on Friday. Rainfall rates could reach a dangerous 2.5 inches per hour to 4.5 inches per hour.

Tornado warnings for most parts of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and western Hudson River Valley will continue until 2 p.m. on Friday.

(This article references reports from The Washington Post and Bloomberg.)