Tropical Storm Debby expected to impact Maryland later this week.
Reisterstown, Md (KM) Tropical Storm Debby is expected to impact Maryland later this week, but the big question is where.
The storm made landfill on Monday in Florida as a Category One Hurricane, but has since weakened to a tropical storm. The National Weather Service predicts the storm will move inland over South Carolina, and track slowly northeastward to North Carolina and Virginia later this week. But Tropical Storm Debby could track west and affect the Blue Ridge, and possibly Frederick County, Maryland.
The Maryland Department of Emergency Management says hurricanes and tropical storms can have bring some nasty weather when they move inland away from the coast. “The biggest threat we have is inland flooding,” says spokesman Ed McDonough. “And then there would be threats of wind damage and then also tornadoes could be spun up.”
McDonough says it’s important for Marylanders to be prepared for weather-related events or any type of emergency. “Know where to go if you have to evacuate. Will you be staying at a local shelter, or could be able to afford to stay at a hotel, or stay with relatives who are kind of out of the path of what may be coming,” he says.
Also have a fully stocked emergency kit. “You can go to many websites, including MDEM.maryland.gov, or Ready.gov and you can find lots of things on what to put into disaster supply kits for your home, or your car or even for your office,” says McDonough.
“Have contacts outside the area so that you can let them know that you’re safe, particularly if you have power outage problems,” McDonough continues. “And also keep your devices charged while you do have power because you could lose power. The more your devices are charged, the longer you’ll be able to monitor what’s going on.”
McDonough says MDEM has been getting ready for hurricane seasons. He says the department has had some “pre-season exercises” with officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency offices in Philadelphia. Along with that, the State has activated its Joint Operations center to monitor the progress of Tropical Storm Debby.
He says it’s hoping for the best, and planning for the worst. “And the good news is if we get rain and not a lot of flooding and damaging winds, the rain will certainly help our drought,” McDonough says.
By Kevin McManus