Debby is no longer a tropical storm, but it will still spread flooding rain, wind gusts and isolated tornadoes from the Carolinas to New England through early Saturday.
Heavy rains should become more isolated Friday, though river flooding may linger for days.
Gusty winds combined with increasingly saturated ground in eastern North Carolina could down trees and knock out power in spots.
Meteorologist Nick Pietro with the National Weather Service in Raleigh said eastern North Carolina should be poised to deal with river flooding, as the rainfall runs off into area waterways.
"Prior to Debby, it was pretty wet, pretty soggy. We eradicated the drought with a lot of rain in the last couple of weeks and the soils are wet. So, all the rain we had leading up to this, all prior to Debby has set the stage for a three-to-six-inch rain event to cause major flooding.”
A tornado watch that was expected to expire by early afternoon has been extended for the entire region until 8 p.m.
