After causing at least six deaths in the Southeast, Debby weakened to a tropical depression Thursday but remained a dangerous storm as it picked up speed, spreading its torrential rain and tornado threat north, writes CNN.

The center of the system was 45 miles east of Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday afternoon, but its impacts stretched from the Carolinas to southern Pennsylvania and New Jersey as it accelerated toward the Northeast.

A tornado watch was issued for parts of North Carolina to the DC-Baltimore region. Several tornado warnings were hoisted Thursday evening as the system triggered thunderstorms with embedded rotation, including one for an observed tornado near Wilmington, Delaware.

Flood watches and warnings were plastered up and down the Eastern Seaboard as downpours developed over areas already drenched by Debby’s multi-day rains.

Flood warnings extended to the US-Canada border, with forecasts calling for several inches of rain in upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire through Saturday.

Debby’s shift to the Northeast comes after its death toll rose to six Thursday when a destructive tornado killed a man in Lucama, North Carolina. The tornado damaged homes and a school in the area, which is around 35 miles southeast of Raleigh.

Since crashing into Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday, Debby has dumped more than a foot of rain over parts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

The deluges have engorged rivers, flooded roadways and trapped people in cars, homes and boats – and potentially dangerous heat is expected across the region in the coming days, threatening to complicate the recovery process.