Possible funnel cloud activity, flooding in round of weather warnings for South Florida
The National Weather Service in Miami put parts of Miami-Dade and Broward County under a significant weather advisory Saturday afternoon as a line of strong thunderstorms soaked Dania Beach and Hollywood all the way down to Doral, Key Biscayne, Kendall and close to Perrine.
That advisory warned of winds up to 45 mph and possible funnel cloud activity.
Parts of Broward including Parkland, Coral Springs, Tamarac and Margate were under a severe thunderstorm warning alert, too, through 4:45 p.m. “Take note ... remain inside and away from windows,” NBC6 meteorologist Ryan Phillips said on Twitter.
Flood advisories
But that’s just one part of Saturday afternoons weather woes in South Florida.
There is also a flood advisory alert for Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties until 7:15 p.m. Saturday. And a marine warning for Broward and Palm Beach.
Areas in Miami-Dade in the flood warning area include Brownsville, Norland, Hialeah, Miami, Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, Kendall and into the Hammocks.
High tides already led to some flooding in parts of Miami Beach by Saturday morning, Miami Herald news partner CBS4 reported.
North and Central Palm Beach are in the flood warning box.
The rains, which have been stop and go Saturday, as predicted, are expected to taper off a bit Saturday night before flaring again, said CBS4 chief meteorologist Craig Setzter on Twitter.
Clear skies over the Keys
The view in the Florida Keys?
Much different. Call it the Sunshine State in parts of the Florida Keys Saturday afternoon.
But, as on Miami Beach, high tides in the Keys have sent canal waters rising up to the docks in parts of Big Pine Key, some residents say.
The National Weather Service in Key West said Saturday that the high tides had peaked and should begin to recede over the weekend.
But the clear skies aren’t expected to last.
According to the weather service, a cloud line started to form Saturday afternoon over the Lower Keys associated with Cuban storms moving northward across the Florida Straits. The pattern suggests “showers and thunderstorms could affect the island chain” into Saturday night.
Update on tropical wave
South Florida’s nasty weekend weather isn’t related to a tropical wave churning showers and thunderstorms several hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles.
That system is expected to move west-northwestward toward the northern Lesser Antilles into Sunday and Monday but its threat to Florida and the rest of the U.S. coast is slim, the National Hurricane Center said Saturday in its 1 p.m. update.
“Upper level winds are expected to become unfavorable for further development early next week,” the center said.
This story was originally published August 3, 2019 at 4:00 PM.
