A slow-moving storm system infused with deep tropical moisture over South Florida brought more heavy rain and thunderstorms Thursday — one day after flash flooding turned streets into rivers and delayed or canceled hundreds of flights. Over a foot of rain was clocked in multiple areas.
Seven million people remained under a flood watch Thursday across South Florida for what’s forecast to be a third day of intense deluge.
“Even a small duration of heavy rainfall could lead to more flash flooding!” the National Weather Service office in Miami warned on
As of Thursday morning, flood warnings had been allowed to expire in parts of southern Florida, but residual flooding continues, and several roads remain closed in hard-hit areas. Heavy rain is forecast to pick up in the evening.
The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center issued an advisory of high risk of excessive rain Thursday afternoon for parts of southern Florida, including metropolitan Miami.
The heavy rain will create “numerous areas of flash flooding,” the weather service said. “Furthermore, many streams may flood, potentially affecting larger rivers.”
The Miami area has practically zero tolerance for any more rain. Flash flood guidance reveals it would take less than 0.25 inches of rain in just one hour to cause parts of the metro area to flood instantly.
Wednesday’s downpour led Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare an emergency in Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota counties, allowing for state aid. The cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood also issued emergency declarations.
Cars got stuck on flooded roads, water filled homes, people were urged to stay in their residences, local airports recorded hundreds of delays and cancellations, and part of Interstate 95 in Broward County was closed to traffic for water to be drained.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Thursday afternoon that a flood watch continued in the county through Friday evening and that the hardest hit areas Wednesday were Aventura, Surfside, Belle Harbor and parts of North Dade.
Fire emergency services helped 34 people evacuate, stemming from 16 calls — three of them at homes and 13 from stranded vehicles.
There are no mandatory evacuations and no shelters opening Thursday. So far, all major roads are reported clear and open, and drinking water is safe to drink, she said.
She urged people to stay home and off the roads to avoid getting swept away in floodwaters.
Aventura police said that over 300 vehicles were towed off roads and that elderly people were rescued from trapped vehicles Wednesday.
Hallandale Beach got 19 inches of water in five hours, Michael Kane, a spokesperson for Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, said Thursday. Emergency services responded to 175 calls related to flooding, most involving cars rescued, not people. About 35 people were rescued Wednesday.
Kane said high-water rescue vehicles and boats were deployed and multiple families were saved. Many homes were “not flooded but had high water,” and elderly or impaired people needed rescue via boat. No injuries related to floods were reported.
Fort Lauderdale picked up 9.54 inches of rain in 24 hours, with Wednesday marking its wettest June day on record and the third-wetest calendar day on record.
Overall, at least six weather stations from Miami to Fort Lauderdale picked up over 10 inches of rain — the most being 13.96 inches over Hialeah and 12.67 inches over the Hollywood/Hallandale Beach area. Most of the 10- to 12-inch rain totals came over just five to six hours Wednesday.
Combined with Tuesday’s rain, some locations across South Florida have had more than 20 inches of rain in just two days.
The more than a foot of rain that came down in just six hours over the Everglades reached the criteria for a 1-in-1,000-year event — the second in just two days.
On Friday, the threat of excessive rain will decrease slightly over the southern tip of Florida, and a slight risk of excessive rain is in place for South Florida from Friday into Saturday morning.
Through Saturday morning, 5 to 10 more inches of rain will be possible, including for the metro areas of Naples, Fort Myers, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
