Northern Pennsylvania and Southern New York state experienced flash floods due to the remnants of Tropical storm Debby, as reported by the New York Post.
The storm initially made landfall as a category 1 hurricane on Florida’s Gulf Coast early Monday, then moved over the Atlantic Ocean before hitting land again in South Carolina early Thursday as a tropical storm.
Debby was downgraded to a tropical depression late Thursday afternoon and further classified as a post-tropical cyclone by Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The tropical storm Debby has finally stopped pouring the rain in New York City, but the strong winds are forecasted.
In Steuben County, near the Pennsylvania border, officials ordered evacuations in the towns of Jasper, Woodhull, and parts of Addison due to rising floodwaters that made several roads impassable, trapping some residents.
However, by mid-evening, as the threat of severe flooding diminished, some of those evacuation orders were lifted.
Tropical storm Debby that earlier stirred up tornado and flash floods alerts in the city, had largely moved away from the city by 7:30 pm, with radar showing the storm’s centre moving at a rapid 38 mph.
Northern and Southern California were hit hardest by the heavy rainfall, floods and tornadoes.
So far the storm has caused 8 deaths in the Eastern part of the US.
Reports of 40 mph winds were noted across the five boroughs on Friday evening. Although these are less intense than the 50 mph winds reported earlier, they still pose a risk.
The storm is expected to blow out in the sea Saturday afternoon.
The authorities have lifted the flash flood warnings as the rainfall from Debby is much lighter in New York as compared to other cities in the country.
FOX Weather meteorologist Christopher Tate called this “good news,” noting, “It means that any rain we’re going to see in the metro area will be brief and should minimise flooding impacts—nothing like what we experienced earlier this week,” as quoted by the New York Post.
Although Debby has largely exited New York City, her aftermath continues to cause disruptions at the airports.
Both JFK and LaGuardia experienced numerous flight delays Friday evening, with some pushed back by as much as four hours, according to flight status updates.