Flooding rains and king tides drench South Florida streets. Cold front to bring relief
Thanks to nearly nonstop rain for some 12 hours Friday, people in South Florida are finding flooded streets and water lapping at their doors.
One Little Havana resident, Roberto Paris, told Miami Herald news partner CBS4 that water flowed over his driveway, a not-uncommon occurrence when heavy rains fall in his neighborhood. Getting out and about is no easy task on deluge days.
“The city needs to fix it,” Paris told the news station.
Cutler Bay, too, saw flooded streets, that made commuting a heavy chore.
“I can barely get through there, I can’t imagine these smaller cars trying to get through there,” mail carrier Christian Roig told WSVN-7 as he navigated flooded streets in the South Miami-Dade community in his truck.
The flood advisory message Friday morning from the National Weather Service in Miami was “turn around, don’t drown.”
Since many are still working remotely, another message could simply be an advisory to say, “Alexa, turn off my alarm and wake me Sunday morning when this nasty weather is over and it’s nice and cool.”
Throughout the morning and into the afternoon, as rains continued to fall, flood advisories kept getting extended.
An additional 2- to 4-inches of rain was forecast by the National Weather Service Prediction Center for Friday afternoon.
What’s happening
From Deerfield Beach in the north to Miami Beach in the south, a flood advisory warned of minor flooding concerns to last through 12:45 p.m. Friday, for instance.
For Homestead, Florida City and Leisure City in South Miami-Dade storms with wind gusts to 40 mph are on tap through 2:45 p.m., according to a weather statement alert from the service.
The possibility for tornadoes or damaging winds can’t be ruled out from some of these South Miami-Dade afternoon storms, the service said, adding locations that include Turkey Point, Homestead Miami Speedway, Black Point, Homestead General Airport, Redland, Homestead Base, Naranja, Ocean Reef, Princeton, Royal Palm Ranger, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, Goulds, Homestead Bayfront Park, West Perrine, South Miami Heights and North Key Largo.
Just before 7 a.m., after at least three hours of heavy early morning rains in much of South Florida, the service’s Doppler radar showed a particularly strong line of thunderstorms moving northeast from the Everglades into the parts of Broward and Northern Miami-Dade, according to meteorologist Barry Baxter at Miami’s weather service office.
Some of the locations that could experience flooding from this batch of froggie delights include Hialeah, North Miami,. Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Miramar, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Davie, Plantation, Sunrise, Deerfield Beach, Tamarac, Margate, Lighthouse Point, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Miami Gardens, Hallandale, Lauderhill and Weston.
Around 6:30 a.m., an off duty National Weather Service meteorologist reported flooding at Southeast First Avenue and Ninth Street in Miami as water topped street curbs and flowed down streets, CBS4 reported.
The coastal flooding in Miami-Dade, Broward and also Palm Beach is also fueled by high tides, king tide and northeasterly swells, according to the weather service.
How much rain?
Several areas have reported 2 to 4 inches of rain from downpours that have fallen since around 5 a.m., according to Barry’s report. The ongoing rain prompted the weather service to issue a flood advisory though at least 8:15 a.m.
That advisory applied to Miami, Hialeah, Miami Beach, Surfside, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Miami Shores, North Bay Village, El Portal, Little Haiti, Pinewood, Liberty City, Golden Glades, West Little River, Gladeview, Westview, Bay Harbor Islands and Biscayne Park.
Wind gusts are expected in the 30 mph range. No hail, though. Be glad for some small favors.
An additional 2 to 4 inches could continue into the afternoon, National Weather Service forecaster Greg Gallina said in a posting at 11:30 a.m.
This “is a concern particularly along/just south of Alligator Alley (I-75) and metro portions of Miami-Dade that have already seen 2-4” this morning,” Gallina wrote. Isolated and localized rapid flooding continues to remain possible.
When will storms clear out?
Friday is pretty much a wash. Storm chances remain at 90% in South Florida, dipping to 70% Friday night. Saturday’s forecast calls for 40%.
Temperatures will range from a high near 80 and lows around 73 degrees.
Sunday morning is the pay off for all this wetness: a seasonal chill. Look for a nip in the low 60s on mostly clear skies.
This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 8:18 AM.
