Florida Flooding: Streets Submerged, Vehicles Stranded Due to Nearly a Month's Worth of Rainfall

Florida flooding impacted multiple areas across the southern part of the Sunshine State earlier this week. On Tuesday, June 11, a heavy rainfall event (equivalent to nearly a month's worth of precipitation) poured down across South Florida. The sudden inclement weather caused a surge of raging floodwaters, submerging streets, and stranding vehicles.

However, the latest Florida weather forecast from United States weather authorities suggests the continuance of the adverse weather in the state until later this week. According to recent local reports, flood watches are in place for over 8 million people across South Florida starting from Wednesday to Thursday night, June 12 to June 13. Localized travel disruptions are also expected in the coming days.

Amid the Florida flooding threat, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned that excessive rainfall across central and southern Florida could result in flash and urban flooding. The weather service also mentioned there is a 'slight risk' of torrential rain over the region as far as Friday morning, June 14. The wet weather is being caused by a stationary front combined with tropical moisture above Florida and the Gulf Coast.

Florida Flood Alert

Major travel delays have been reported in Florida after a month's rain struck cities like Tampa and Sarasota. The Florida flood and heavy rain caused around 600 flight delays and flight cancellations at Miami International Airport. The flash flooding event occurred after the massive precipitation fell in a short period of time on Tuesday. In Miami, flood warnings were given when floodwaters rose after 3 inches of rainfall.

As violent storms due to a tropical moisture hovered above Florida and its surrounding regions, significant rainfall struck the Sunshine State even when the country is already heading to its summer season starting Thursday, June 20. Regardless, US meteorologists are expecting the further flooding rain in Florida and potentially in other parts of the Southeast US and Gulf Coast region this week.

Florida Weather Forecast

On Wednesday, it was reported the National Hurricane Center is expecting this year's first tropical depression of the hurricane season off the Southeast coast later this week. Meanwhile, the NWS' Weather Prediction Center provided its updated Florida weather forecast at 4:00 a.m. EDT (local time) on Wednesday, warning that a weather front and tropical moisture will produce showers and thunderstorms across South Florida.

The US Government weather agency also warned further heavy rain events in Florida this week could result in localized flash flooding, affecting mostly low-lying areas, small streams, and urban areas. Coinciding with thunderstorms across the region, there is also a risk for lightning, strong winds, and even few tornadoes.

Elsewhere in the country, the Western US has been experiencing a surge of high temperatures due to a persistent heat wave across the region over the past week. Moreover, wet weather similar to Florida and the Gulf Coast is also expected over parts of the Pacific Northwest on Friday, the NWS reported.