Air Force units from Florida through the Carolinas moved their aircraft out of harm’s way Aug. 4 and 5, hoping to avoid the wind and especially flood waters expected with Tropical Storm Debby, which is expected to dump as much as 30 inches of rain on some southern areas over the next few days.
Debby roared ashore in Florida early Aug. 1 as a Category 1 hurricane, with winds in excess of 75 miles per hour, pushing a 6-10-foot storm surge in Florida’s Big Bend area. But the National Weather Service swiftly downgraded the cyclone to a Tropical Storm and warned that its greatest peril would be as a slow-moving rainmaker, dumping tens of inches of rain as it slowly marched across northern Florida and southern Georgia to the Atlantic Ocean. There it is expected to strengthen and return inland, making its way north through central North Carolina and Virginia through the end of the week.
The 71st Rescue Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Ga.—in the storm’s centerline path—moved its MC-130J Combat King aircraft out of danger on Aug. 4 because there wasn’t sufficient hangar space to shelter them.
Some 23 of Moody’s 76th Fighter Squadron A-10s also relocated to Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., as were four HC-130Js, while some aircraft were secured on-base. A Moody press release said some wings have memoranda of understanding about where they will move their aircraft in case of catastrophic weather. The aircraft are set to return after Aug. 6.
Joint Base Charleston, S.C., dispatched some of its C-17s to undisclosed locations and fueled most of its others as it prepared for heavy weather. The 315th Airlift Wing warned base personnel that “Hurricane/Tropical Storm Debby is likely to move very slowly over/around our area through mid-to-late week. [It] has the potential to bring historic rainfall (10-20 inches are possible with some areas getting as much as 30 inches) and areas of catastrophic flooding to the southeast and our local Charleston area.”
The wing also warned that “tropical storm-force winds, storm surge and tornadoes are possible” and that flooding of the nearby Ashley and Cooper Rivers “could inhibit reviver efforts into next week and beyond.” It also warned of “2-4 feet of storm surge inundation over normally dry tidal/near-tidal regions.”
MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., issued a statement on Facebook that it probably would not evacuate any personnel as a result of the storm, but it did move its KC-135 tankers to an undisclosed location Aug. 4, to return when conditions are deemed safe. Other aircraft at MacDill were kept on base.
Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base, Tyndall Air Force Base, and Hurlburt Field all expect no impact from Debby, which was moving well to their east. They planned to operate normally this week.
Other bases along the storm’s path either could not be reached for comment or did not publish storm plans. Those that acknowledged the storm referred personnel to hurricane preparedness pages.
Air Force installations frequently choose to evacuate their aircraft in advance of hurricanes and other storms.