The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for multiple states in the Eastern U.S., including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, as remnants of Debby — the deadly, but now downgraded storm — carves a path through the tristate area.
More than 13 million people should be on alert until at least 10 p.m. ET Friday, as some tornadoes are possible in the area, weather officials said in a warning issued just before 1:30 p.m.
About two hours later, Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide state of emergency to make it easier for communities to have access to resources and personnel.
I am declaring a state of emergency for all of New York.
We are prepared to deploy resources to areas affected by the severe weather caused by the remnants of Debby.
Please stay safe, monitor your local forecasts, and keep off the roads.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) August 9, 2024
“With the remnants of Debby making its way across New York, I am declaring a statewide State of Emergency, and my administration stands ready to support impacted communities,” Hochul said in a statement to the press.
“State agencies have activated swift water rescue teams for impacted regions that require assistance,” she added, stressing the importance of residents “to remain vigilant and stay off the roads.”
Flash flood emergencies have already been reported in several communities in Steuben and Allegany counties, with evacuation orders issued for residents in Woodhull, Addison, Jasper, and parts of the Village of Canisteo, local station WETM reported.
According to the NWS, wind gusts could reach up to 65 mph, while isolated hail of up to half an inch in diameter is possible in a large part of the Northeast.
A wind advisory was also issued for southeast New York, southern Connecticut and northeast New Jersey until 11 p.m. Friday, the agency said in a late-morning update.
South winds with speeds between 15 to 20 mph and gusts of up to 40 mph are expected in the area, which includes Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties in New York.
“Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles,” NWS officials said, urging people to use “extra caution” when driving. Outdoor objects should be secured.
Low clouds and thunderstorms will likely interrupt travel plans for people flying into or out of all three major airports in New York City, the Philadelphia International Airport and other major cities in the Northeast, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday morning.
At New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, more than 160 flights had been canceled and nearly 400 others were experiencing delays as of 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to data compiled by FlightAware. Passengers flying out of LaGuardia should expect delays of at least 90 minutes for both departures and arrivals.
Friday night’s Yankees-Rangers game was rescheduled “due to the forecast of sustained inclement weather” and it’ll be made up Saturday as the second game of a single-admission doubleheader, which will begin at 1:05 p.m.
NYCEM, the city’s emergency management agency, issued a travel advisory for Friday due to “heavy rainfall and potential flash flooding,” especially in low-lying and poor drainage areas.
“During heavy rain, move to higher ground or a higher floor. If you must travel, use caution,” officials said.
The message was echoed by the mayor’s office in a post shared on social media early Friday afternoon. “Avoid travel if you can and be careful if you’re walking around,” City Hall said.
Debby, now a post-tropical cyclone, first hit Florida’s Gulf Coast on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane before making a second landfall in South Carolina as a tropical storm early Thursday morning. The massive storm has been linked to the deaths of at least eight people.
Following a slow trek through the Carolinas, Debby is “simultaneously weakening and accelerating” as it heads toward the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.
Here is Doppler Radar late this aftn showing the line of showers & embedded tstorms moving into western parts of the region. Tornado watch remains in effect to N&W of NYC until 10PM and much of the area remains in a wind advisory for this afternoon into tonight. #NYwx #NJwx #CTwx pic.twitter.com/fNiYwTZXvX
— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) August 9, 2024
Debby’s acceleration is due in part to a strong cold front stretching from the Great Lakes, southwestward through the Plains. However, even as the storm loses power, extreme weather conditions, including the possibility of dangerous flash flooding, should continue across portions of the Carolinas, Mid-Atlantic, Interior Northeast, and New England, NWS officials said early Friday morning.
“There will be multiple threats in Debby’s final chapter,” Jon Porter, AccuWeather’s chief meteorologist, said. “And it’s a dangerous one.”
Areas across some Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states could see up to seven inches of rain, which could result in “considerable to locally catastrophic flooding” through Saturday morning.
Parts of Massachusetts and Vermont are also under a tornado watch until at least 10 p.m.— an area with nearly 4,000 schools and more than 230 hospitals.
Most of New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and southeast New York should brace for possible tornadoes by early Friday afternoon, officials said.
A tornado watch is issued by the NWS’s Storm Prediction Center when “tornadoes are possible in and near the watch area.” Residents are urged to review emergency plans, take inventory of supplies and make sure they have a “safe room.”
When a tornado is “happening or about to happen,” officials will issue a tornado warning. That means people in the area should “take action” and seek shelter immediately.
Over the past three decades, New York State has seen an average of nine tornadoes per year, “mostly in the western or eastern parts of the state and fewer in the central or northern parts,” according to Stuart Evans, assistant professor in the Department of Geography, College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Buffalo.
With News Wire Services
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