Forecasters expect Debby to drop ‘historic’ rain. See how much has fallen in your area

Heavy and potentially ‘historic’ rainfall from Tropical Storm Debby remained the most extreme impact for Beaufort County through Thursday, the National Weather Service said early Tuesday.

Forecasters predicted rain totals through 8 a.m. Friday could potentially amount to as high as 20 to 25 inches, the service said. Over the past two days, many areas have measured between 8 and 12 inches of rain, the service said. The NWS expected in addition to the already fallen rain, the Lowcountry would get an additional 6 to 12 inches.

In Beaufort County, the highest rainfall totaled 11.16 inches in Beaufort and the lowest was 3.91 inches on Hilton Head Island.

Curious about your area? Below are current rain totals caused by Tropical Storm Debby’s wake, according to NWS report, as of 10 a.m. Tuesday. Here are the rainfall totals from rain gauges for the center of each of the major municipalities.

• Hilton Head Island center: 3.91 inches
• Beaufort center: 9.99 inches
• Bluffton center: 8.13 inches

• Beaufort MCAS: 8 inches

Below is a list of rainfall totals from additional gauges and the distance each gauge is from the center of the town or city it is in. The compass direction is included, such as northeast (NE), south-southwest (SSW), etc.

Bluffton rain gauges

• Bluffton 0.7 miles NNW: 9.84 inches

• Bluffton 6.4 miles NW: 9.17 inches

• Bluffton 1.7 miles S: 8.85 inches

• Bluffton 2 miles NE: 8.7 inches

• Bluffton 7.4 W: 8.31 inches

Okatie rain gauge

• Okatie 3.5 NE: 7.61 inches

Beaufort rain gauges

• Beaufort 3.6 miles NE: 11.16 inches

• Beaufort 1.6 miles SSW: 9.14 inches

• Beaufort 6.5 miles NNW: 8.82 inches

• Beaufort 3.6 SW: 6.37 inches

• Beaufort 0.8 NNW: 8.49 inches

Hilton Head Island rain gauges

The north end was harder hit than the center of the island.

• Hilton Head Island 4.2 NNE: 7.61 inches

• Hilton Head Island 5.1 NW: 7.37 inches

• Hilton Head Island 1 mile E: 4.19 inches

• Hilton Head Island 5.0 NNE: 6 inches

• Hilton Head Island 4.0 N: 7.93 inches

• Hilton Head Island 4.4 NNE: 7.91 inches

• Hilton Head Island 4.1 NE: 8.51 inches

Beach and outer island communities’ rain gauges

• Seabrook 4.3 miles SSW: 10.89 inches

• Fripp Island 0.5 miles WSW: 10.06 inches

• Forest Beach 2 miles NNE: 5.3 inches

This story was originally published August 6, 2024 at 11:48 AM.

Sarah Haselhorst

The Island Packet

-843-593-7313

Sarah Haselhorst, a St. Louis native, writes about climate issues along South Carolina’s coast. Her work is produced with financial support from Journalism Funding Partners. Previously, Sarah spent time reporting in Jackson, Mississippi; Cincinnati, Ohio; and mid-Missouri.

Chloe Appleby

The Island Packet

843-443-2417

Chloe Appleby is a general assignment reporter for The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette. A North Carolina native, she has spent time reporting on higher education in the Southeast. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Davidson College and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.