Monday’s rain was awful but was it a record? And will New Year’s Day stay dry?
This story was updated to include Saturday’s weather activity.
To the thousands of passengers that were stranded at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport, to the countless others who found out cars really don’t function well as boats on flooded streets, know this: at least you get to say you were part of a record day.
The National Weather Service confirmed that Monday’s rainfall, measured at the airport, broke a near 80-year-old record and not only broke it, it drowned it by more than five inches.
On Dec. 23, a record daily rainfall of 7.15 inches fell at the airport in Broward County, breaking the old record of 1.57 inches set in 1940, said Harry Weinman, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Miami.
How long ago was that old Dec. 23, 1940, record set? It was just under a year before the United States entered World War II. Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. And Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna guitarist Jorma Kaukonen was born.
And while nearby Dania Beach, Hollywood Beach, Hallandale, and parts of North Miami-Dade, like Aventura, saw torrential rains and even stranded drivers in a flooded Publix parking lot across the street from the Aventura Mall, South Florida hasn’t yet set any rainfall records for December.
In fact, the total rainfall so far in December at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International — 9.52 inches — is only the fourth highest monthly rain total recorded at FLL, Weinman said.
“This was absolutely a rare event, a pretty isolated event to that area,” he said. “Basically, we’re calling it a coastal convergence type of event.”
What that means is “a lot of rain showers piled up on the coast and there wasn’t anywhere for the water to go.”
The regeneration of rain showers continually moved into that isolated area and there was no time for the rain to drain out before another deluge dropped, the meteorologist explained.
More rain on the way
But December isn’t over yet and we’re in for a wet Friday and weekend before drier air moves in on a cold front and rescues New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, Weinman said.
“Right now we are in a pattern that does favor heavy rainfall events,” Weinman said on Friday. “There’s quite a bit of uncertainty in this type of pattern but people need to be aware of the potential for localized heavy rainfall that could materialize starting this morning all the way through the weekend.”
Saturday morning brought a flash flood warning for parts of North Palm Beach, along with the chance for the same in parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties due to heavy rain fall. Miami-Dade was also seeing showers.
The flash flood warning lasted for most of the day.
Maybe you’ll want to consider a Florida Keys day trip. Rain chances are only 10% to 20% all the way through New Year’s Day in Key West. It’s only when you get to the Upper Keys near Miami-Dade, like Key Largo, where rain chances bump to 50% Friday night and hover around 20% and 10% after that possibly wet night.
By cold front we mean lows around 71 degrees on Monday and highs about 78 on Tuesday.
“Right now, we’re not looking like it will be the strongest of cold fronts but it will give [rain] relief,” Weinman said.
So, aside from the expected rains in Miami-Dade and Broward — and cooler lows into the 60s in Orlando if you’re heading to one of the attractions for the last holiday of the decade — is there anything else to worry about?
Actually, yes.
The dreaded rip currents
“Currently, we do have marine hazards for the Atlantic and Biscayne Bay so if you are out and about on the beaches exercise extra caution due to wind and waves,” Weinman said.
The dangerous rip currents warning from the National Weather Service is in effect through Saturday evening in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
This story was originally published December 27, 2019 at 9:08 AM.
