Tropical Storm Debby: Latest forecast track as it makes 2nd landfall, in South Carolina, drenching East Coast

Tropical Storm Debby — which has been drenching parts of the Southeast after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in Florida’s Big Bend region earlier this week — made a second landfall, in South Carolina, bringing with it more heavy rain and the threat of severe flooding, forecasters say.

Where is the storm, exactly?

According to an update from the National Hurricane Center on Thursday, Debby was slowly churning in the Atlantic about 65 miles off the South Carolina coast.

• Location: 90 miles north of Charleston, S.C.

• Maximum sustained winds: 45 mph

• Present movement: Northwest at 7 mph

The storm is expected to accelerate across South Carolina and North Carolina Thursday before moving through the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Friday, NHC forecasters say.

What are the biggest risks associated with Debby?

Rain and storm surge, forecasters say.

Debby is expected to produce an additional 3 to 9 inches of rainfall with locally higher amounts, leading to maximum storm total amounts as high as 25 inches in parts of the Carolinas through Friday.

In addition, the “combination of storm surge and tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline,” the hurricane center said.

Where is the greatest risk for flooding right now?

Along the Carolina coast, the water level could reach 1 to 3 feet above ground “if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide,” the hurricane center warned.

What other areas could see impacts from Tropical Storm Debby?

Debby is expected to merge with a frontal boundary over the mid-Atlantic on Friday, bringing heavy rain and the potential for flash flooding from Virginia to Vermont through the weekend.