Heavy rain and gusty winds are expected this week in South Florida
South Florida will see periods of heavy rain, gusty winds and possible flooding for the rest of the week, forecasters said Tuesday afternoon.
The weather results from a non-tropical depression that is expected to form off the coast of Florida and Georgia, and the effects began on Tuesday evening with a severe thunderstorm warning in parts of southern Florida.
Forecasters said Tuesday that the system will create strong conditions closer to winter.
The east coast of Florida is expected to witness strong northeasterly winds in the coming days, intensifying until Friday.
On Tuesday, the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties. Radar indicated particularly heavy rain in areas that had already been flooded in the previous days. Between 1 and 2.5 inches of rain fell with the possibility of an additional 1 to 2 inches. 2 to 3 inches fell in Palm Beach County.
Dynamic winds and rain produced a rotating funnel cloud near West Palm Beach on Tuesday afternoon, WPEC-Ch reported. 12 Meteorologist Michael Ehrenberg.
Dramatic video of a rotating funnel cloud near West Palm Beach earlier this afternoon. thanks for the @Vytasweatherguy To capture this! @CBS12 @natwxdesk pic.twitter.com/teQFJUPgAF
– Michael Ehrenberg (@MichaelCBS12) September 19, 2023
Parts of southern Broward and Miami-Dade counties were under a severe thunderstorm warning Tuesday night until just after 8 p.m., as severe storms with winds up to 60 mph rolled east near Alligator Alley, according to the National Weather Service in Miami.
The weather service said a peak gust of 60 mph was recorded at Miami Executive Airport shortly after 8 p.m. More than 8,400 Florida Power & Light customers were without power around 9 p.m. in Miami-Dade County.
After a severe thunderstorm warning expired, meteorologists said a strong thunderstorm quickly moving east near Hialeah Tuesday night could produce winds of up to 50 mph in the Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Davie and Weston areas, prompting a severe thunderstorm warning to be issued. Severe thunderstorms. Special weather statement.
Another strong thunderstorm hangs over Pompano Beach with winds over 40 mph, frequent lightning and heavy rain expected around 9 p.m. to impact northern portions of Broward with tree limbs down.
Forecasters said it was an “eventful evening as a strong band of storms moved through the Everglades and impacted western portions of the East Coast metro with high winds.”
9/19 7pm – ⚠️Warning! A very strong thunderstorm is moving over the Everglades toward the Miami metro area. Heavy rain, strong wind gusts and very frequent lightning are expected over the next hour or so. pic.twitter.com/MqrxWvKaCl
– NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) September 19, 2023
The weather for the rest of the week includes lots of thunderstorms, an 80% chance of rain most days, and the possibility of flooding, especially in urban areas that already received rain earlier in the week, said Robert Garcia, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“The big thing we need to watch during the week is the potential for heavy rain and possibly even flooding, and strong wind gusts from thunderstorms that may develop,” Garcia said. He added that flooding could occur from Tuesday to Friday.
The National Weather Service expects hazardous marine conditions off Palm Beach and Broward counties on Friday, extending into Miami-Dade County waters on Saturday. These conditions include sustained winds of 20 to 33 knots and seas equal to or greater than 7 feet. These are hazardous conditions for small vehicles.
Winds from the offshore depression will combine with residual waves from Hurricane Lee to affect beach and ocean conditions.
The National Weather Service in Miami expects a high risk of rip currents in Palm Beach County through Wednesday evening, and a moderate risk in Broward County most of the week through Friday. Saturday will see high rip current risks from Palm Beach County south to Key Biscayne in Miami-Dade County.
The non-tropical low should move north toward Georgia and the Carolinas and “could gain some subtropical characteristics this weekend if it stays offshore,” according to the latest warnings. It has a 30% chance of developing in the next seven days.
“Regardless of subtropical development, this low could bring gusty winds, heavy rain and high surf conditions to parts of the coastal Carolinas to coastal mid-Atlantic states this weekend,” according to the latest warnings. “Gusty northerly winds are expected off the southeastern coast of the United States from Friday into Saturday,” the National Hurricane Center said.
Sun Sentinel staff writer Angie DiMicelli contributed to this report.
