Southeast Florida swamped by more than two feet of rain

Torrential rains pounded Southeast Florida on Thursday, increasing cumulative rainfall in the Fort Lauderdale area to more than two feet in recent days, causing severe flooding that shuttered roads, closed schools, and forced the closure of an airport.

According to preliminary reports, nearly 25 inches (64 cm) of rain fell in Fort Lauderdale, making it a once in a 1,000-year weather event, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

“It’s really uncommon. “That is a huge amount of rain,” Miami NWS meteorologist Shawn Bhatti said.

As the city was pummeled by unrelenting rain, 2 million people in Broward County were under a flood warning. The NWS said that parts of Florida’s Atlantic Coast north of Miami have already received 20 inches (51 cm) of rain in the last few days.

There have been no recorded injuries or deaths.

Social media videos showed sheets of rain pelting the neighborhood, flood waters reaching the roofs of cars, and people wading through floodwaters. amid one video, a person swims amid flooded street waters.

“This thing has been parked for hours,” meteorologist Alex Lamers tweeted on Wednesday night, referring to the storm system that was dumping rain on the area. “Like putting a faucet right over Fort Lauderdale, turning it on, and then walking away.”

The city of Fort Lauderdale announced on its website early Thursday that emergency management workers responded to rescue requests overnight, citing flood conditions throughout the area.

Experts say the increasing frequency and intensity of such storms in the midst of extended drought across the country is a sign of human-caused climate change.

The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport’s runways were flooded, and it was anticipated to be closed until lunchtime Thursday. According to the Flightaware tracking site, around 400 inbound and outgoing aircraft were canceled.

Heavy rains and flooding led Broward County Public Schools, which serves around 250,000 students, to cancel school on Thursday.