Dangerous flooding from a tropical disturbance inundated much of southern Florida on Wednesday, blocking roads, leaving vehicles floating in water and causing delays for the Florida Panthers on their way to a Stanley Cup game in Canada against the Edmonton Oilers.
The chaotic storm system slammed into Florida from the Gulf of Mexico almost simultaneously with the early June start of this year’s hurricane season. predicted to be the most active This is the latest development amid growing concerns that climate change is making storms more intense.
The National Hurricane Center said the disturbance has not yet reached cyclone strength and has only a small chance of strengthening into a tropical storm after crossing Florida and entering the Atlantic Ocean.
“Regardless of the evolving conditions, heavy rainfall is expected to continue across parts of the Florida peninsula over the next few days,” the hurricane center said on its website Wednesday.
Many roads were flooded and impassable. Southbound traffic on Interstate 95, Broward County’s main thoroughfare, was being detoured around flooded sections while contractors were working to pump the drainage system, the Florida Highway Patrol said in an email. The interstate would not reopen until the water had been drained, the agency said.
The National Weather Service in Miami issued increasingly severe warnings.
“Life-threatening flooding continues,” the agency said on social media platform X. “Stay off roads and seek higher ground.”
The mayors of Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood declared states of emergency for their cities Wednesday afternoon. Later Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also declared a state of emergency for five counties on Florida’s Atlantic coast – Broward and Miami-Dade counties, and Collier, Lee and Sarasota counties on the state’s west coast.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levin Cava also issued a local state of emergency.
“Continued heavy rainfall has caused rising water levels on several roads throughout the city of Fort Lauderdale, including major thoroughfares such as Broward Boulevard and Federal Highway near downtown,” Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said on X.
Near Hollywood, Mike Wiesel told the Miami Herald that he was driving home with his dog, Humi, on Wednesday afternoon when he got caught in deep floodwaters along a low-lying road.
Wiesel said when he slowed down and came to a stop, another car passed by, causing more water to enter his vehicle. The engine stalled.
“I would get out of the car,” he told the Herald, but his dog “doesn’t like water.”
In Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood, puddles were already forming in the lobby of the building Alfredo Rodriguez moved into a year ago by Wednesday morning. He told the Miami Herald that his building has flooded five times since he moved in.
“I’m shocked. I want to be out of here within three months. It’s terrible. You can’t even drive your car,” he said of the flooded roads.
Dozens of flights were delayed or canceled at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and the NHL’s Florida Panthers were delayed more than three hours from departing Fort Lauderdale for a roughly six-hour flight to Edmonton, where Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Final will be played.
Further north, the National Weather Service in Melbourne confirmed an EF-1 tornado struck Hobe Sound on the Atlantic coast, north of West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday morning.
Strong winds toppled several banyan trees and damaged businesses, Martin County Fire and Rescue officials said. No injuries were reported, but debris on the road cut off access to wealthy Jupiter Island.
Florida has already seen rain and wind this week. About 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain fell in Miami on Tuesday, and 7 inches (17 centimeters) fell in Miami Beach, according to the National Weather Service. About 5 inches (12 centimeters) of rain fell in Hollywood.
In addition to the rain that fell on Tuesday, about 9 inches (23 centimeters) of snow fell in parts of South Florida between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Wednesday, Brian McNoldy, a senior research scientist at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Public Health, noted in X.
“We are in trouble,” McNoldy wrote.
Rain is expected for the rest of the week, with the National Weather Service in Miami extending a flood watch through Thursday, with some locations potentially receiving up to 6 more inches (15 centimeters).
Most of the western part of the state Prolonged droughtSarasota-Bradenton International Airport also saw significant rainfall on Tuesday, according to the weather service, and flood warnings were issued for those areas as well.
Forecasters are predicting a busier than normal hurricane season.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts an 85% chance of an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season, predicting between 17 and 25 named storms, including up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes, over the coming months. An average season has 14 named storms.
Fort Lauderdale is Big hit in April 2023 Record rainfall of between 15 inches (38 centimeters) and 26 inches (66 centimeters) flooded many homes and businesses.
_____
Associated Press Sports Writers Stephen Whyno in Edmonton, Canada, and Frida Frisaro in Cooper City, Florida, contributed to this report.
