The remnants of Hurricane Debby, which diminished to a tropical storm and then to a tropical depression spread heavy rain, flooding and tornado threats today over hundreds of miles of the eastern United States as it raced north toward the Northeast. The storm was on a track that would take it far west of the New York Metro and Hudson Valley areas. However, forecasts of heavy rain, high winds and possible tornadoes continued for Friday with clearing not expected until Saturday morning.
Some isolated thunderstorms were expected and flooding was possible due to ground that is already saturated from rains earlier this week.
The storm system as bringing with it sustained winds of 35 miles per hour with stronger gusts. At least seven people died in the Southeast since Debby made landfall in Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday.
CNN reported that several tornado warnings were issued for the Washington, DC, area including one near Reagan National Airport just after 8:20 a.m. today. The warning was cancelled less than 20 minutes later. Multiple flash flood warnings were issued for the nation’s capital area with rain falling at up to 3 inches per hour. A state of emergency was in effect for Frederick County, Virginia, this morning.
The U.S. Storm Prediction Center had tornado watches in effect until 2 p.m. today for more than 26.1 million people in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.
There was a ground stop on flights at LaGuardia Airport for a while this morning, with weather-related delays reported at all of the New York-area airports.
There were reports of downed tree limbs on the Garden State Parkway along with reports of power lines down and train service knocked out in New Jersey.
Gov. Kathy Hochul today requested a Major Disaster Declaration from President Biden to support the ongoing recovery efforts of communities impacted by the severe weather that occurred on July 10 and 11.
“Our State witnessed an unprecedented number of tornadoes, heavy rains, and damaging winds in July that caused extensive damage throughout Central New York and the North Country,” Hochul said. “Today, I’m requesting a Major Disaster Declaration that would unlock further federal assistance to support our ongoing efforts to help New Yorkers recover as communities continue to deal with the fallout of this historic weather event.”
CNN Newsource contributed to this report.
