Record-breaking rains hit South Florida, causing widespread flooding, U.S.

Potential Tropical Cyclone One brought record-breaking rains to South Florida over the weekend, causing widespread flooding. The disturbance also hit Cuba, leaving at least 3 people dead.

• The storm continued strengthening over the weekend and was named Alex at 06:00 UTC on June 5, becoming the first named storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.
• Alex is now heading toward Bermuda and is forecast to pass near or just north of the island on June 6.

Four climate sites used by the National Weather Service (NWS) to gauge rainfall and located at airports in Naples, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and West Palm Beach all set rainfall records for June 4, NWS meteorologist Sammy Hadi said.

Road conditions are extremely dangerous right now. Stay home and don’t walk or drive on flooded roads. Do not attempt to retrieve stranded vehicles, because the flood prevents you from seeing hazards, such as, electric wires, cracks or others. #StayHome #tropicalcycloneone pic.twitter.com/N7j1sn6DBw

— City of Miami (@CityofMiami) June 4, 2022

To locate your stranded vehicle, call the @MiamiPD non-emergency number at 305-579-6111. Please have the make and model of the vehicle and the location where it was left. pic.twitter.com/O9wSTkzxky

— City of Miami (@CityofMiami) June 4, 2022

While downtown Miami saw a total of 279 mm (11 inches) of rain as of Saturday morning, June 4, with some parts of the state experiencing over 305 mm (1 foot) of rain, Palm Beach International Airport registered 114.80 mm (4.52 inches) of rain, breaking the previous high for June 4 of 66.5 mm (2.62 inches) set in 1978.¹

Boca Raton in Palm Beach County registered 251.2 mm (9.89 inches) in 24 hours to midnight (LT) on June 4 while Margate received 375.6 mm (14.79 inches).

“Road conditions are extremely dangerous right now,” the City of Miami said. “Stay home and don’t walk or drive on flooded roads. Do not attempt to retrieve stranded vehicles, because the flood prevents you from seeing hazards, such as, electric wires, cracks or others.”

“It’s been a very busy night,” the City of Miami Fire Rescue Lt. Pete Sanchez said. “We’ve been at this since 5 p.m. yesterday. We’ve seen a lot of flooding. We’re still seeing people out of the road.”²

“A lot of people did prepare, but still a lot of people were out driving last night, and those are the ones that got stuck, and we’ve had over 40, 50 cars, that were stuck out in the water,” Sanchez said.

“We had to help people, rescue people out of their vehicles.”

References:

¹ Widespread floods and landslides hit Cuba, leaving at least 3 people dead – The Watchers – June 6, 2022

² Downpours and gusty winds damage homes, flood roads, stall cars across South Florida – WSVN – June 4, 2022

Featured image credit: City of Miami (still shot)