Tropical Storm — East Carteret, North Carolina

2024-08-08 · East Carteret, North Carolina

Event narrative

Winds gusted to tropical storm force, with a peak gust nearing 50 mph recorded at the Beaufort Airport. The winds peaked during the mid to late morning hours.

Wider weather episode

After making landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on August 5, Debby weakened to a tropical storm as it slowly moved across southeastern Georgia and offshore. Tropical Storm Debby then came ashore in South Carolina after stalling off the southeast coast for several days. Debby gradually progressed northward through central North Carolina and eventually into southern Virginia.

The circulation brought strong moisture advection to eastern NC priming conditions for a long duration rainfall and flash flooding event. Impacts included a widespread 3-10 inches of rain across the forecast area and flash flooding in several locations. Winds were not as much of an issue, though some gusts to tropical storm force were noted for some areas near the coast, which produced some minor tree damage. A tornado formed and touched down in Greene County, and was rated an EF-2. Storm surge was negligible.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1209514. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.