Fort Lauderdale flooding likely to rewrite history books: ‘Everything was bad’
Extreme rainfall rarely ever seen in the U.S. flooded homes, highways and the airport in and around Fort Lauderdale, Florida, earlier this week. AccuWeather meteorologists say it was worse than the rainfall from most hurricanes.
More than two feet of rain fell in Fort Lauderdale in less than two days, leaving homes and roads underwater. Here’s how some of them responded.
An epic deluge with more than two feet of rain poured down on the Fort Lauderdale area on Wednesday, forcing a major airport to close and leaving many parts of the region underwater. The city, located on Florida's Atlantic coastline, has weathered its fair share of hurricanes, but according to AccuWeather forecasters, Wednesday's storm could go down in the record books.
An "unprecedented amount of rainfall" occurred in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Wednesday evening, according to Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis. Large sections of Fort Lauderdale and surrounding towns were submerged underwater.
Trantalis declared a state of emergency for the city on Thursday due to the flash flooding. A state of emergency was also issued for Broward County, where Fort Lauderdale is located.
More than 2 feet of rain quickly piled up at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Wednesday evening, prompting the abrupt closure of the airport. A bird's-eye view of the airport on Thursday morning showed the runways looking more like lakes, with many planes stuck in the water.
The airport was closed until Friday morning after a large amount of the water had been pumped off the runways. By 9 a.m. EDT on Friday, numerous planes were landing and taking off at the airport. Flights will resume on both runaways as of 12 p.m. EDT Saturday.
Motorists were forced to abandon their vehicles due to the severe flooding that unfolded. By Thursday morning, many vehicles remained submerged and abandoned on major roads.
First responders conducted multiple rescues in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, including the rescue of this child from a flooded home on the night of April 13.
The water wasn't just contained to roadways, either. It poured into people's homes, which forced many people to evacuate. Many residents didn't sleep through the night as they headed to nearby shelters that were quickly opened.
"It was bad. We don't sleep," Fort Lauderdale resident Esther Morales told AFP. "It was probably like five, six feet of water inside the house; everything was bad."
Fort Lauderdale resident Esther Morales talks to AFP about the recent flooding in Fort Lauderdale. (AFP)
Many people who have lived in the Fort Lauderdale area for years can't remember the last time they saw this much rain in such a short amount of time.
"I've been living here for a couple years now, and it's the first time I've seen something like this," Fort Lauderdale resident Alex Ortiz told AFP.
Over a 24-hour period that ended on Thursday morning, Fort Lauderdale received 25.91 inches of rainfall, according to the National Weather Service. While unofficial, some rain totals reportedly topped 30 inches.
The NWS says that all rainfall totals from Wednesday are preliminary and won't be confirmed until a survey crew assesses the information.
If the 25.91-inch rainfall total recorded in Fort Lauderdale is confirmed, it will be the greatest 24-hour precipitation total recorded in the state. The record currently stands at 23.28 inches, which was reported in Key West on Nov. 11-12, 1980, during Hurricane Jeanne.
Unofficial Florida rainfall reports from April 12, 2023.
According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex DaSilva, most of the rain fell during an eight-hour period on Wednesday.
"April is still considered the dry season in southern Florida, with Fort Lauderdale averaging only 3.70 inches of rain for the month," DaSilva said. "The rainiest time in South Florida is from June through September."
DaSilva said that the amount of rain that fell, which was from a slow-moving system that AccuWeather forecasters have been warning about since late last week, could make this a 1,000– to 2,000-year flood event. It's important to note that a 1-in-1,000-year event means there is a 0.1% chance of the event happening in any given year.
"It appears that about 1.5 inches of rain occurred in 10 minutes in Fort Lauderdale, which is close to the United States' all-time record for rain in that short period of time," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter explained. "The rarity of this extreme rainfall event is particularly noteworthy when you consider it did not occur during a hurricane landfall."
Porter added that it is unusual to observe sustained rainfall rates of 4–6 inches per hour in the same exact spot, which is what happened Wednesday, even during a hurricane.
In addition to the severe flooding, the National Weather Service in Miami reported two EF0 tornadoes touched down in South Florida during the torrential downpours.
The first tornado, an EF0 with estimated peak winds of 65 mph, touched down in West Hollywood, which is just south of Fort Lauderdale, shortly before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. According to the storm survey, the twister was on the ground for only 0.01 of a mile and caused minor damage.
The second EF0 tornado, which had estimated peak winds of 85 mph, touched down just after 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Dania Beach, also located south of Fort Lauderdale. The twister traveled 0.58 of a mile and caused damage to trees and a mobile home community. According to the storm survey, metal siding and roof damage were noted throughout the community.
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