Heavy rain flooded roads in Florida and halted flights at Fort Lauderdale’s airport Wednesday evening as storms dumped over a foot of rain, forecasters and officials said.
A flash flood emergency was issued for areas near Hollywood, Dania Beach and Fort Lauderdale, the National Weather Service said Wednesday night.
Radar estimates showed 11 to 12 inches and up to 17 inches closer to the coast — and the rain was still falling at around 4 inches an hour, said Chuck Caracozza, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Miami.
“It’s extremely dangerous here in the Fort Lauderdale area,” Caracozza said. “People should be avoiding the roads and staying off the roads.”
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport said it was closed to flights and warned drivers to stay away or to stay at the airport, because entrance and exit roads were flooded.
Video broadcast by NBC Miami showed flooding in an airport parking garage and cars driving through flooded streets in Dania Beach, a city just south of Fort Lauderdale.
“We’re asking you to stay off the roadways until some of this water dissipates,” Fort Lauderdale Fire Chief Stephen Gollan told residents in a video the city manager shared Wednesday. Cars are getting stuck, he said.
Passenger train service between Miami and Fort Lauderdale was suspended, provider Brightline said.
The flash flood emergency in Fort Lauderdale and other parts of Broward County was in place until 11 p.m. Rain should taper off later into the night and overnight, Caracozza said.
The weather service had forecast heavy rain in parts of Florida on Wednesday because of a lifting warm front. Rain and wind are expected to move to the central Gulf Coast on Thursday.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
