(WPDE) — UPDATE THURSDAY, 2 AM
We have been very lucky. Tropical Storm Debby has sucked in tons of dry air, which has helped reduce the extreme amounts of rain so far. However, there will still be periods of extremely heavy rain.
GALLERY: Tropical Storm Debby soaks Grand Strand and Pee Dee
At about 2 a.m. Thursday, Debby made landfall near Bulls Bay, South Carolina, as a tropical storm, with a minimum central pressure of 995 millibars and maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.
Bulls Bay is nothing new to tropical activity of historic proportions. During Hurricane Hugo in 1989, Bulls Bay recorded a 20-foot storm surge. That storm surge in Bulls Bay with Hugo remains the highest storm surge ever recorded on the East Coast of the United States.
TIMED COORDINATION
It will be rainy and windy on Thursday, with conditions improving on Friday.
Then we will have typical summer weather again this weekend.
RAIN
By midnight Thursday, the storm had dropped up to 10 inches of rain in Loris. The average of those 20 measurements is 6.32 inches of rainfall.
Most areas will see an additional 1 to 4 inches of rainfall through Thursday. Higher amounts are possible in areas with heavier rainfall.
Severe flooding may occur in areas of persistent heavy rainfall. Flash flooding may cause ditches and retention basins to overflow, roads to be flooded and water to possibly enter buildings.
Take flash flood warnings seriously!
TOP STORY: Grand Strand and Pee Dee areas declare state of emergency due to Debby
In areas with heavy rainfall, significant flooding may occur.
Moderate to severe flooding is expected at all river gauges except the Lumber River at Nichols. The weather team will continue to monitor river levels throughout the week.
WIND
Gusty to stormy weather is expected to continue Thursday morning.
The wind will die down quickly on Thursday evening and Friday. The heavy rain and loose soil could cause some trees to fall and there could be isolated power outages.
TORNADO
There remains a slight threat of tornadoes in parts of Horry, Marion, Dillon, Robeson and Columbus counties on Thursday.
Any storms that can rotate will move in quickly from the sea. There are several opportunities to receive warning information in the green zone on both days.
ALONG THE COAST
The storm surge warning has been lifted because Debby is expected to bring a storm surge of 30 to 90 centimeters to the immediate coast.
A high risk of rip currents will continue throughout the week, decreasing to moderate on Saturday.
WHEN DOES IT END?
The weather should improve late Friday and Saturday, but flooding and/or power outages could linger.
Many rivers in the region will experience moderate to severe flooding later this week, over the weekend and into next week.
TRENDING: Power outages reported in Grand Strand and Pee Dee
Stay tuned for more updates from WPDE. Be sure to download the WPDE Weather app. Search for “WPDE WX” in the iOS App Store or Google Play.
