Debby is leaving Virginia after sparking tornadoes, floods and power outages
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Debby's forecasted path. Photo: National Hurricane Center
Debby might be done with us soon.
Why it matters: The tropical storm turned tropical depression was threatening half of Virginia with potential tornadoes and flash floods nearly all of Thursday.
- And it's posed a nightmare scenario across the Southeast this week, with tornadoes and floods pummeling Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas and killing at least seven people.
The latest: Debby's center crept into Virginia overnight and is projected to leave the state and be well into Pennsylvania by 2pm Friday, per the National Hurricane Center.
Yes, but: The National Weather Service warns not to focus solely on the track since impacts can be felt outside of it.
- For example, on Thursday morning — before Debby's center hit Virginia — Old Town Alexandria had already flooded. Residents were picking up free sandbags to prepare for more heavy rain.
- The NWS on Thursday also issued brief tornado warnings, which means a tornado has been spotted or could be coming soon, across the state — including in parts of Hanover near Kings Dominion.
- The Richmond area faced possible flash floods until Thursday night.
Plus, more than 21,000 Virginians were out of power around 9pm Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us. That number jumped to nearly 36,000 Friday morning.
- The Virginia Department of Transportation reported dozens of road closures or delays, especially in western Virginia, due to floods or downed trees.
- Chesterfield closed its schools, including Bellwood Elementary which is on a year-round schedule, on Friday due to the weather.
- And the James River could rise by more than 10 feet by Saturday, per an NWS briefing on Thursday.
What's next: A flood watch remains in effect through Friday night, especially south of I-64. Then it's mostly sunny the rest of the weekend.