A fourth straight day of rain fell across South Florida on Friday morning, capping a week in which a wet weather pattern caused major traffic disruptions and flooded homes and roads.
The threat of heavy rain is expected to gradually subside over the next few days, but forecasters still warned that lingering rain could cause problems, according to the National Weather Service. The weather service extended a flood watch through Saturday night for much of South Florida, including cities such as Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
“Excessive runoff may cause flooding in rivers, streams, creeks and other low-lying flood-prone areas,” the weather bureau said in a warning announcement on Friday afternoon. “Wide range of road flooding and stream and river flooding is possible.”
Days of rain led to flooded roads, making driving dangerous for residents even in areas accustomed to stormy weather.
Ashley Varona, a real estate worker, and her co-workers left early Wednesday to avoid worsening flooding, but roads were already underwater. Varona, 32, said the drive from her office in Sunny Isles Beach, Miami-Dade County, to her home in Normandy Isles in the Miami Beach area was “very scary.”
“There were times when I thought I might be stuck,” Varona said in an interview.
On the way home, the car’s collision avoidance sensors were activated, mistaking a large amount of water running down the windshield for an obstacle. Video footage taken by Varona shows the bottom half of the car submerged in water as it parked in the office parking lot. Rain continued to fall from the sky during a walk on Wednesday evening, causing puddles to break through Varona’s rubber boots.
Flash flooding is possible again in that part of Florida through the afternoon, as the storm is expected to dump another 2 to 3 inches of rain per hour through Friday morning, on top of the more than a foot of rainfall that has fallen this week.
Already saturated and weak soils across the region are certain to become more susceptible to further rainfall, which has led to flood warnings remaining in place for several counties until Friday evening.
Thursday marked the third day of tropical downpours as a line of storms stretching from the state’s west coast to its east coast brought heavy rain and flooding to some areas, increasing the risk of flash flooding into the evening.
Heavy rain caused temporary grounding at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Tampa International Airport Thursday afternoon, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The airport ground suspensions were lifted by Thursday evening, but more than 1,200 flights scheduled to depart or arrive at Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Orlando International Airport were canceled or delayed by Thursday night, according to FlightAware.
The weather service raised the risk of heavy rain for Thursday to “high,” the highest of four levels, and the city of Miami Beach declared a state of emergency.
Heavy rains on Wednesday have already caused flash flooding from Fort Lauderdale to downtown Miami, hitting major urban areas and closing roads, including parts of Interstate 95. Due to the severity of the weather, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota counties.
Two people were killed and three others injured in a car crash in Collier County on Wednesday after a driver lost control during rainy weather, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The floodwaters have submerged shopping malls, submerged cars and, in some areas, left residents wading through waist-deep floodwaters.
Fort Lauderdale recorded a one-day rainfall record of 9.5 inches on Wednesday, breaking the previous record of about 5.5 inches that had stood since 1978. Miami Beach saw more than a foot of rain fall over two days, with 13.64 inches recorded.
Other 48-hour rainfall figures were nearly double that amount, with North Miami unofficially recording 20 inches, and Hallandale and Hollywood each recording 19 inches since Tuesday — all above the Miami area’s average June rainfall of 10.5 inches.
The weather is starting to improve in some areas, including Miami Beach and surrounding areas, and the weather was beautiful in the Normandy Islands Thursday evening and Friday morning, Varona said.
“I have never seen anything more beautiful than what I saw Thursday evening as the sun went down,” Varona wrote in a text message.
A video she posted to social media on Thursday showed a bright rainbow painting the sky orange, and has gone viral on TikTok.
Niraj Chokshi, Jesus Jimenez, Isabella Quai and John Yoon Contributed report.
