A tropical disruption has caused a rare display storm incident to much of southern Florida as people are getting ready for more heavy rain on Thursday and Friday.
The Florida Panthers were delayed by the weather and subsequent flooding on Wednesday, putting the team in danger against the Edmonton Oilers in Stanley Cup matches in Canada.
At roughly the same time as the start of the hurricane season, which is expected to be among the most effective in recent memory, was being pushed across Florida by the confused storm system from the Gulf of Mexico, amid concerns that climate change is causing more wind power.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the disruption has not yet surpassed storm standing and has only a passing possibility of forming into a tropical method once it crosses Florida into the Atlantic Ocean.
Matthew Koziol, MatÃas Ricci, Manuel Ricci and Raúl Fernández traveling by boat through a flooded road caused by heavy rain on North Bay Road in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., Wednesday, June 12, 2024. ( David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP )
A band of heavy rain was forecast to fall over the area for a third day in a row, according to a post posted on the social media platform X early on Thursday.
” Even a small duration of heavy rainfall could lead to more flash flooding”!, the post said.
Numerous roads remained flooded and impossible for vehicles to cross. Southbound traffic was being diverted around a flooded section of Interstate 95 on major arterial in Broward County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol in an email. The interstate would n’t reopen until after water is drained, the agency said.
The Miami weather service office issued increasingly ominous warnings.
The service stated on the social media platform X that “life-threatening flooding is currently taking place. ” Please avoid the roads and travel higher ground.”
On Wednesday afternoon, the mayors of Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale issued a state of emergency for their cities. Later Wednesday, Florida Gov. Broward and Miami-Dade on the state’s Atlantic coast, as well as Collier, Lee, and Sarasota counties on the state’s west coast, are also in the state of emergency, according to Ron DeSantis.
Mayor of Miami-Dade County Daniella Levine Cava also declared a state of emergency.
Mike Viesel was driving home on Wednesday afternoon in nearby Hollywood when he was spotted in deep floodwater along a low-lying street with his dog Humi, he told the Miami Herald.
As he slowed down and stopped, Viesel said other cars drove past him, sending even more water into his vehicle. His engine stalled.
Hector Guifarro climbs around to the front of his vehicle to avoid the flooded street in front of St. Edwards Apartments in Edgewater along N. E. 23rd Street in Miami, Wednesday, June 12, 2024. ( Al Diaz/Miami Herald via AP )
” I’d walk out of my car”, he told the Herald, but his dog “has a problem with water”.
The lobby of the building Alfredo Rodriguez moved into a year ago had water puddles inside on Wednesday morning in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood. He claimed that since moving in, the building has flooded five times.
” This is horrible. I ca n’t pull my car around”, he said of the flooded streets.
At Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood International Airport, dozens of flights were canceled or delayed. The NHL’s Florida Panthers had to travel for nearly six hours to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Final after being delayed by more than three hours from Fort Lauderdale.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne confirmed that an EF- 1 tornado impacted Hobe Sound on Florida’s Atlantic Coast on Wednesday morning, north of West Palm Beach, on the way home.
A man makes his way down the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk as heavy rain falls over parts of South Florida on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Hollywood, Fla. ( Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP )
According to Martin County Fire Rescue officials, the winds reportedly damaged a store and knocked down several banyan trees. No injuries were reported, but debris on the road blocked access to wealthy Jupiter Island.
It’s already been a wet and blustery week in Florida. In Miami, about 6 inches ( 15 centimeters ) of rain fell Tuesday and 7 inches ( 17 centimeters ) in Miami Beach, according to the National Weather Service. Hollywood got about 5 inches ( 12 centimeters ).
Bryan McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School, noted on X that some 9 inches ( 23 centimeters ) had fallen on parts of South Florida from 7 a. m to 6 p. m. on Wednesday in addition to the rain that fell on Tuesday.
” We are in trouble”, McNoldy wrote.
The weather service office in Miami extended a flash flood watch through Thursday because more rain was forecast for the remainder of the week. Some places could see another 6 inches ( 15 centimeters ) of rain.
The western side of the state, much of which has been in a prolonged drought, also got some major rainfall. Nearly 6.5 inches ( 16.5 centimeters ) of rain fell Tuesday at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, the weather service says, and flash flood warnings were in effect in those areas as well.
Forecasts for an unusually busy hurricane season are expected.
A man works to clear debris from a flooded street as heavy rain falls over parts of South Florida on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Hollywood, Fla. ( Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP )
There is an 85 % chance that the Atlantic hurricane season will be above average, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which projects between 17 and 25 named storms in the upcoming months, including up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes. An average season has 14 named storms.
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Frisaro reported from Fort Lauderdale. Associated Press sports writer Stephen Whyno in Edmonton, Canada, contributed to this story.
