CNN
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Torrential rains caused flooding in several parts of South Florida on Wednesday, including the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas, prompting the state’s governor to declare a state of emergency and stranding drivers across the region.
Flood warnings were in effect from Wednesday night into Thursday morning for parts of Broward, Miami-Dade, Collier and Hendry counties, according to the National Weather Service, which warned of continuing “life-threatening flooding” since early that morning.
“Many areas are flooded, vehicles are stranded and further rain is expected,” the weather service said in a statement Wednesday night. “Please stay off the roads if possible.”
Footage posted on social media showed water in the area reaching car windows, flooding parking lots and nearby roads.
In Miami, video showed stranded cars almost completely submerged in water. It was the second day in a row that the Miami area has faced flooding issues after a storm dumped 2 to 5 inches of rain on Tuesday, flooding roads.
In Hallandale Beach, a man was seen on video paddling a kayak between cars as high water flooded parts of the city, and authorities urged residents to stay in evacuation shelters and not drive or wade through the water.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota counties, saying heavy rain and flooding were affecting “the operational ability of critical infrastructure” including major interstates, roads, schools and airports.
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People walk through a flooded road in Hallandale Beach, Florida, on Wednesday.
Severe weather has forced Broward County school officials to postpone until Friday the demolition of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a gunman killed 17 people in 2018.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis declared a local state of emergency, citing “excessive rain” and flooding. City officials Said Heavy rains have caused “high water” on roads across the city, it said, adding that emergency management staff have deployed high water response vehicles and vacuum trucks to the area.
By early Wednesday night, Fort Lauderdale officials said the city had received between 7 and 8.5 inches of rain since midnight. I said it with XOfficials added that up to five more inches of snow was expected overnight.
The severe weather caused hundreds of flight cancellations and delays at the region’s two major airports: At least 320 flights were canceled at Miami International Airport and more than 280 were canceled at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Heavy rains are common in the state, but they are becoming more intense as the world warms due to fossil fuel pollution. The daily downpours are also being caused by tropical moisture moving in from parts of the Caribbean and hitting South Florida along a front that covers the state.
A widespread, disorganized storm system remaining over the state is expected to dump several more inches of rain over the remainder of the week, and the National Hurricane Center predicts the storm is unlikely to strengthen into the hurricane season’s first tropical storm as it leaves the Southeast Coast by later in the weekend.
Rainfall amounts are expected to reach double digits in parts of Florida by Friday, with parts of Southwest Florida potentially approaching 20 inches. The state’s southwest Gulf coast, from Sarasota to Everglades National Park, is at greatest risk of receiving more than 10 inches of rain.
However, heavy rainfall outside the most at-risk areas could cause flash flooding, especially in urban areas and areas with poor drainage.
A flood watch was in effect for more than 8 million residents in South Florida from Wednesday through Thursday night.
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The risk of flooding will be elevated throughout this week as storms dump heavy rainfall over the same area on consecutive days, causing increased rainfall, saturated soils and rising waterways in the area.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the rain will be beneficial for drought-stricken areas: Half of Florida is in abnormally dry or drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, with the worst drought concentrated in areas with the heaviest rains.
The intense moisture fueling this week’s storms typically collects in parts of the Caribbean Sea and the southern Gulf of Mexico at this time of year and then flows into the Central American Gyre, a large, chaotic area of showers and thunderstorms that rotates around Central America and the surrounding waters.
The wide rotation of the gyres and deep moisture can help tropical systems form in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and even parts of the easternmost Pacific Ocean if other necessary factors, such as favorable upper-level winds and warm waters, are in place.
The circulation usually first develops in late spring and early summer, which is one reason why most of the tropical cyclones in June form in the Gulf of Mexico or off the east coast of the United States.
Despite the abundance of bath-warm water in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, upper-level winds, known as wind shear, are too turbulent right now for tropical storms to form in those areas, said John Rizzo, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Key West, Florida.
The vortex is causing rainy weather across the Gulf Coast, much like what Florida experienced this week.
“Just the formation of the Central American Gyre signals the arrival of summer and the start of the rainy season,” John Rizzo, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Key West, Florida, told CNN.
For most of Florida, June, July, August, and September are the rainiest months of the year. Frequent influxes of tropical moisture and direct influence of tropical systems cause large spikes in precipitation during this time of year.
