Tropical Storm Debby remnants to blast N.J. with tornado threat, 50 mph wind gusts today

The dangerous remnants of Tropical Storm Debby could spin up tornados in New Jersey on Friday along with wind gusts up to 50 mph and intense thunderstorms that could cause flash flooding, according to the latest forecast.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for 17 counties through 2 p.m. Friday. There’s a 5% to 9% probability for tornadoes for about half the state, which the weather service notes “is quite high for this area.”

Just Bergen, Hudson, Monmouth and Ocean counties are excluded from the tornado watch, but the weather service said in its early Friday forecast that the watch area may need to be expanded and the timing of the watch extended as Debby progresses north through Pennsylvania.

• ALSO: Here’s why N.J. faces a tornado threat during the storms from Debby’s remnants

“Tornadoes are the main threat,” the National Weather Service said. “Isolated damaging wind gusts in the morning with a more widespread risk afternoon and evening.”

While the heaviest rain from Debby will miss New Jersey, thunderstorms with intense downpours could still hit already rain-soaked parts of the state, forecasters say. Another 1 to 2 inches of rain is possible for most of the state, with 2 to 4 inches in the forecast for northwestern counties.

• Live N.J. power outage tracker: Gusty winds from Debby remnants put thousands in dark

The National Weather Service issued a flood watch through 1 a.m. Saturday for 11 counties — Camden, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, northwestern Burlington, Salem, Somerset, Sussex and Warren.

A wind advisory has also been issued for nearly the entire state through Friday evening.

The forecast calls for “a period of strong south or southeast winds on Friday, with wind gusts of 35-50 mph expected across the entire area,” the weather service said. “This may led to downed trees and power outages.”

NJ Advance Media’s power outage tracker showed 5,000 homes and businesses already in the dark as of 8 a.m. Friday.

AccuWeather.com’s forecast predicts wind gust of 40 to 60 mph across a wide area expected to feel the effects of Debby, which is now a post-tropical cyclone. The private weather forecasting company noted that the wind and tornado threat, and not heavy rain, remain the main concern for New Jersey.

“Places such as Philadelphia, New York City and Trenton, New Jersey, may have actually received more rain Tuesday night than they will from Debby into Friday night,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist John Feerick said.

Some localized river flooding may linger into Saturday, but skies begin to clear for what should be a much needed stretch of pleasant weather.

Highs on Saturday and Sunday are expected to be in the low-to-mid 80s with low humidity. The nice weather with slightly below average temperatures continues through next week, the weather service said.

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