The weather for central North Carolina will largely be driven by the slow moving Tropical Storm Debby as it is forecast to bring impacts to the area as early as Tuesday, the National Weather Service said in its 12:30 update.

The most likely threat will be prolonged periods of heavy rain Tuesday through Friday night resulting in significant rainfall over the next several days. “It is important to not associate the strength of a storm to the expected impacts,” the NWS Raleigh bureau said. “Slow moving tropical storms are capable of significant rainfall with scattered to numerous flash flooding possible.”

As of 11 a.m., Debby was located about 35 miles west of Lake City, Florida.

The storm is expected to track northeast across that part of Florida and southeast Georgia as early as Tuesday.

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It is then expected to move north to the South Carolina coast through early Thursday before tracking north through eastern South Carolina into central North Carolina Thursday through early Saturday.

With the current forecast track, the NWS said, the storm’s rain bands may begin to affect central North Carolina as early as Tuesday.

Impacts are expected to last through mid- to late-week as the storm’s center moves north and northeastward into central North Carolina Friday through Saturday afternoon,

The most likely threat is expected to be heavy rainfall from the Triangle area to the south and the east, starting as early as Tuesday afternoon.

Several inches of rain are possible and wind gusts as high as 25 to 40 miles per hour may occur early Friday morning through Saturday afternoon, mainly east of Highway 1.

The NWS said there remains some uncertainty with the exact track and timing of Debby from Wednesday through the end of the week, due mainly to its expected slow motion. 

Confidence is increasing for torrential and prolonged periods of heavy rain.