How will showers and thunderstorms affect searching at the Surfside building collapse?
Rain began falling Friday morning as crews continued to search through the rubble for people in the partially collapsed condo tower in Surfside. The forecast is calling for more downpours in South Florida.
The National Weather Service says there’s a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms in Surfside and Miami Beach through the early afternoon. The rain chance then drops to 20% to 30% for Friday night, but it will pick up again for the weekend. The rest of coastal Miami-Dade and Broward counties are also forecast to see showers and thunderstorms through Sunday.
Between a tenth and quarter of an inch of new rainfall is forecast to fall Friday in Surfside, with higher amounts possible in thunderstorms, according to the weather service.
While rescue crews can work through the rain, they can’t work through lightning for safety reasons.
Around 9:30 a.m., moderate to heavy rain began soaking Surfside but it is moving west, said Lissette Gonzalez, meteorologist for Miami Herald news partner CBS4.
The good news is that South Florida is forecast to see east winds around 15 mph and gusts as high as 21 mph. The strong breeze should help the showers move along fairly quickly toward the west, Gonzalez said.
At 10 a.m., winds were gusting up to 30 mph in Surfside, said Local 10 Meteorologist Brandon Orr. He posted video online of debris falling from the upper floors of what’s left of Champlain Towers South Condo. Crews are now trying to knock down debris before it falls on its own, he said.
More rain is also expected during the weekend. The forecast is calling for a 40% to 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms.
