It was raining cats and dogs in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and the surrounding areas on Wednesday. Flash flood warnings were issued, cars were stranded, and the airport shut down faster than a clown car in a hurricane. But don’t fret, folks, the rain had calmed down by midnight, and the flood emergency was reduced to a mere warning that lasted until at least 8 a.m., according to the National Weather Service’s office in Miami. The service urged residents to steer clear of the roads and seek higher ground. More than a quarter-million people live in the affected parts of the state, so heed the warning, people.
“This is a life threatening situation,” warned the National Weather Service on Twitter. That’s about as serious as a bread-and-water dinner in jail.
Fort Lauderdale officials updated the public at 12:30 a.m., and it was no laughing matter. They said that emergency workers were doing all they could to get through the flooded streets, and that they had procured airboats and high-clearance buggies to support rescue operations within two hours. Darn, I wish I had my keys to my personal hot air balloon.
The city also reported that City Hall was powerless, and city facilities would be closed on Thursday. If it’s your day off anyway, cheers to an unexpected break!
The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport was closed until at least noon on Thursday, and Broward County schools were out for the day. Say what you will about the rain, but it sure knows how to throw a party.
Weather Underground showed that there were some serious rainfall rates in excess of three to four inches per hour. Double ouch! There were a number of totals that eclipsed 24 inches at the airport in Fort Lauderdale. As of 11 p.m. on Wednesday night, the range of total rainfall across the area ranged from just under 20 inches to an unbelievable 25.46 inches in some parts of Fort Lauderdale.
Miami, on the other hand, only saw three to five inches of rain – barely a quarter of what Fort Lauderdale got. Looks like Fort Lauderdale’s crown as “rain queen” remains secure.
Typically, Fort Lauderdale receives 3.02 inches of rain in the entire month of April. To put it in perspective, the airport may have gotten the equivalent of seven Aprils’ worth of precipitation in just one day. Talk about overachieving!
It’s possible that Fort Lauderdale received more rainfall in one single day than the wettest April on record. In April 1979, the area received a monthly total of 19.47 inches. So, Fort Lauderdale just set a new record, like a boss.
There is no precedent for this much rainfall anywhere close to Fort Lauderdale. Only six days in the city’s history have seen double-digit rainfall totals, dating back to World War II. A deluge of this magnitude has just a 0.1 percent chance of occurring in any year – or in other words, it was a “1-in-1,000-year rainstorm.” Heck, that’s rarer than a unicorn in a tutu.
Despite many cars stranded on flooded roads, there were no reports of injuries or deaths. Emergency services were flooded with non-emergency 911 calls, and had to remind people to call tow trucks if stranded, and save 911 for “real” emergencies. Let’s all use our common sense, people!
Douglas Thron, who owns a cleaning business in Fort Lauderdale, was leaving his car behind and walking two miles home when he found himself with his car in knee-deep water. “I’ve never seen anything like this” exclaimed the 53-year-old. At least he got some walking exercise in.
Dawn Grayson, who has lived in the area all her life, and her husband were on their way to catch a flight to Las Vegas for their business. But once they got to the airport, they couldn’t travel because of rising water levels. They were trapped in their car for four hours before being allowed to drive back home. They saw several cars stuck in water on their way back; talk about a scenic detour!
Weather forecasters knew that heavy rain was possible, but no one predicted catastrophic flooding in Fort Lauderdale. The Weather Prediction Center in Maryland had even given a “slight” risk of flash flooding and excessive rainfall. That forecast certainly did not age well.
The cause of the rainfall was a warm front slowly moving northward that effectively became a stationary front. This produced slow-moving downpours and thunderstorms moving over the same areas again and again. It was like turning on a water faucet and leaving the room.
PWATs (Precipitable Water indexes) ranged in between 1.5 and 1.75 inches, suggesting that there was enough moisture in the atmosphere to transform it into heavy rainfall. Thunderstorms formed and transformed into extreme rainfall. You don’t need science to tell you that you might want to stay inside at this point.
So, there you have it, folks; the rain’s stopped, and the water’s gone (mostly). Thank your lucky stars you’re not a fish.
