Tropical Storm Debby drenches South Carolina as it prepares for a second strike (2024)

Tropical Storm Debby spun like a giant boomerang out of Georgia, a swirling mass of moisture and wind that dropped a foot of rain in parts of coastal South Carolina and then stalled just offshore before an expected turn back for another strike.

Debby’s arrival late Aug. 5 brought high winds and staggering amounts of rain. Gusts peaked at 63 mph on Folly Beach and nearly 60 mph in Charleston Harbor.

Damaging tornadoes were reported across the coast, from Edisto Beach, where an unconfirmed twister may have affected dozens of homes, to Moncks Corner, where a confirmed tornado shredded a shopping center.

Rain gauges filled with amounts we might see in a month, but Debby did it in less than 24 hours: 14 inches in Green Pond; 13 inches on Edisto Beach; 12 inches in Beaufort; and 11 inches in parts of Charleston.

All this water soon turned low-lying streets in downtown into murky rivers.

West Ashley’s flood-prone Church Creek overflowed into nearby neighborhoods.

Coursing water threatened to bust a small dam south of Walterboro, prompting Colleton County officials to send out urgent warnings to evacuate.

And more rain is on the way.

Debby moved over Savannah late Aug. 6 into the Atlantic at about the same pace as an average jogger, about 5 mph. Forecasters expect that jog to continue toward the roiling waters of the Gulf Stream, a potential source of fuel that could help Debby regain some strength.

Powerful atmospheric steering currents had weakened, leaving Debby with little reason to spin faster.

“Right now it’s just sitting off the eastern portion of Savannah,” Steven Taylor, lead meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston, said late in the afternoon Aug. 6. “Hopefully a system will come in and start moving it a lot quicker.”

In the meantime, Debby’s tropical storm bands, nearly 200 miles wide, will send squalls our way. “Flooding is our primary concern,” Taylor said.

Debby didn't surprise

Debby began as a collection of storms that moved off West Africa and drifted across the Atlantic. Huge volumes of dust from the Sahara Desert had smothered some of this season's potential storms, but the system that would become Debby managed to move between them and grow into a Category 1 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.

Its trek into north Florida led to at least five deaths and spawned more than 500 rescues there, but the system lost some of steam as it moved into Georgia and neared South Carolina late Aug 5.

Across the Lowcountry, residents, businesses and government agencies braced for Debby's punch. Santee Cooper began controlled spilling at its Santee Dam to help manage the expected floodwater surge.

The city of Charleston issued a rare citywide curfew at 11 p.m., as the first bands hit, and Charleston Mayor William Cogswell would extend that curfew until 7 a.m. Aug. 7 as the storm's bands pushed rainfall totals into the record books.

“Stay indoors and do not travel,” Cogswell said in a press conference. “If you need to get off the peninsula, we urge you to do that now. If you live on the peninsula, please shelter in place… We need you to take this seriously."

In Colleton County, officials urged residents downriver of the small McGrady Dam to evacuate because of concerns that it might fail.

Then a dense line of squalls hit.

Tornadoes cause damage

In West Ashley, Mike and Erica Spears awoke to the blare of an emergency alert at 12:12 a.m.

The National Weather Service declared a tornado warning for their area between Glenn McConnell Road and Ashley River Road, for the next 30 minutes.

They ran downstairs to grab their cat and 14-year-old dog and take shelter in a bathroom.

“We’re no strangers to storms here in Charleston, but no one wants to wake up to alarms telling you you’re in the path of a tornado,” Mike Spears said.

While their home was safe, neighbors just a few houses down said they could hear the train-like whoosh of the winds blowing through their yards. As morning broke, downed trees had crushed at least one car.

In Moncks Corner, a confirmed tornado struck at about 3 a.m., damaging a shopping center near U.S. Highway 52.

Mayor Thomas Hamilton Jr. said the Arby's "took the brunt of it," knocking "two AC units off the roof. It blew out multiple windows and damaged the roof extensively."

Later in the day, bright red chairs sat tossed around the parking lot, which was filled with broken shards of glass, insulation and debris. Behind it, a truck was flipped over. Across the street, Walmart's parking lot was littered with uprooted trees and overturned carts. The store's main entrance windows were shattered and portions of the roof were ripped off. Employees stood at the entrance behind yellow tape turning around customers.

"It was a strong storm," said Hamilton, the mayor.

Barrier islands hit hard

Debby also pounded South Carolina's barrier islands, with reports of a waterspout off Edisto Beach that moved ashore. Forecasters hadn't yet confirmed whether it was a tornado, but the National Weather Service said that as many as 40 homes may have been damaged.

Other possible tornadoes were reported on Kiawah Island and the Isle of Palms, said Taylor, the National Weather Service forecaster.

On the Isle of Palms, Cindy Lee woke in the middle of the night to a sound she called “otherworldly.” The overpowering noise lasted for several seconds. “It felt like it was on top of us.”

The eerie sound was followed by a loud bang, like something large hit the back of her house. Then, it got quiet again, returning to the rhythmic hum of drizzling rain.

Flashlights in hand, Lee and her husband assessed the damage of the night from their back porch. Shingles are now missing from their home on 25th Avenue. Four limbs from their oak tree lay scattered in the yard. A second oak tree, downed from the powerful winds and rain from Tropical Storm Debby, landed between Lee’s home and her neighbor’s.

“We’re only a few yards away from each other,” Lee said. “By the grace of God, it didn’t land on her house.”

City officials reported toppled trees and power and cable lines across the Isle of Palms. More than 600 customers had lost power on the island, according to Dominion Energy’s outage map. But all power had been restored as of 4 p.m.

Farther inland, rising waters filled low-lying streets in Charleston and North Charleston. On Adams Street in North Charleston, residents moved their belongings from their home as water levels rose.

Water poured from the Port Access Road overpass, creating a pond Meeting Street Road that swallowed a red PT Cruiser and a red Chevrolet SUV.

The SUV driver, a woman with black hair who declined to identify herself, seemed to panic as she called 911 and her family. She stood shivering in sandals in ankle deep water as a huge truck barreled through, causing a wake that made her vehicle bob like a boat.

"Oh my God,” she said three times.

A lull before another strike

In the afternoon of Aug. 6, the rains began to slow in many parts of the Lowcountry.

But Debby's punches kept coming.

The National Weather Service said Church Creek's banks had overflowed and floodwaters would likely get even worse.

Water levels along French Quarter Creek were approaching flood stage, and many homes near the Berkeley County waterway could be inundated with 1 to 2 feet of water.

"Take action now!" forecasters said the afternoon of Aug. 6.

Floodwaters washed out 150-feet of Old Jacksonboro Road in Adams Run, 30 miles west of Charleston, Charleston County spokeswoman Chloe Field said.

Field said the road couldn’t withstand the volume of water and dirt and eroded.

At least 11 emergency shelters were open in the state, currently housing 85 people, including 81 in Charleston County, according to Mike Leach, the director of the Department of Social Services.

More shelters are being opened in Charleston, Florence and Georgetown counties Aug. 6, with more expected to open later in the week.

More than 100 National Guard soldiers are on state active duty, with more expected along with 50 high water vehicles Aug. 7. The guardsmen previously deployed to Florida to aid with the storm response there are in the process of convoying back to South Carolina.

Despite Debby's widespread impacts, the intense preparations before its arrival seemed to pay off.

Late Aug. 6, no deaths in South Carolina had been reported, Gov. Henry McMaster said during a briefing.

Still, he added, the threat of severe flooding remains high, especially around Myrtle Beach. “This storm is creeping across our state."

Alan Havorka, Jocelyn Grzeszczak, Jonah Chester, Kenna Coe, Ian Grenier, Ali Rockett, Anna Sharpe, Komlavi Adissem and Megan Fernandes contributed to this report.