More than 50 centimetres of rain recorded
This article was written by the Associated Press and was published in the Toronto Star on June 14, 2024.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. A tropical disturbance that brought a rare flash flood emergency to much of southern Florida delayed flights at two of the state’s largest airports and left vehicles waterlogged and stalled in some of the region’s lowest-lying streets.
“Looked like the beginning of a zombie movie,” said Ted Rico, a tow-truck driver who spent much of Wednesday night and Thursday morning helping to clear the streets of stalled vehicles. “There’s cars littered everywhere, on top of sidewalks, in the median, in the middle of the street, no lights on. Just craziness, you know. Abandoned cars everywhere.”
Travellers across the area were trying to adjust their plans on Thursday morning. More than 50 centimetres of rain has fallen in some areas of South Florida since Tuesday, with more predicted over the next few days.
Ticket and security lines snaked around a domestic concourse at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport just before noon Thursday. The travel boards showed about half of that terminal’s flights had been cancelled or postponed.
Wednesday’s downpours and subsequent flooding blocked roads, floated vehicles and even delayed the Florida Panthers on their way to Stanley Cup games in Canada against the Edmonton Oilers.
The disorganized storm system was pushing across Florida from the Gulf of Mexico at roughly the same time as the early June start of hurricane season, which this year is forecast to be among the most active in recent memory amid concerns that climate change is increasing storm intensity.
The disturbance has not reached cyclone status and was given only a slight chance to form into a tropical system once it moves into the Atlantic Ocean after crossing Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center.
By Wednesday evening, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and mayors in Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Miami-Dade County each declared a state of emergency.
In Miami, about 15 centimetres of rain fell Tuesday and 17 centimetres fell in Miami Beach, according to the National Weather Service. Hollywood got about 12 centimetres.
More rain was forecast for the rest of the week, with some areas getting another 15 centimetres of rain.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates there is an 85 per cent chance that the Atlantic hurricane season will be above average, predicting between 17 and 25 named storms in the coming months including up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes. An average season has 14 named storms.