Rainstorm Pummels South Florida with Record Flooding, Highs Wind, Power Outages

MIAMI, FLORIDA — Parts of South Florida neighborhoods were left partially underwater after an overnight storm that caused flooding and high winds on Thursday. As many as 7 million people were under a flood watch.

A slow-moving storm originating in the Gulf of Mexico made its way across southeast Florida. Rain was expected to continue throughout Thursday, offering little reprieve to the already saturated region.

Notably, Miami-Dade County saw over 125,000 customers without power after their wettest day in 11 years which saw over 7.5 inches of rain. Some areas in Miami’s metro area saw rainfall totals exceed 9 inches. 

In the Florida Keys and the Everglades, rainfall totals climbed to as high as anywhere between 15-20 inches. 

Schools were closed across the region — including in Broward County where less of an impact was felt. 

So much rain fell in such a short time frame that Fort Lauderdale officials said “the groundwater table is near saturation, which means additional rain may not be able to drain.”

Winds as high as 60 miles per hour hit coastal regions, leading to toppled trees and destroyed property, notably in Lauderdale Lakes. 

The storm moved up the Atlantic side of the Florida coast and affected portions of the Carolina coastline without causing much damage.