gba777 South Florida has been drenched but it’s not from Milton. More rain, wind to come

Mayra Revera, 43, left, and son, Johnmar Mulero, 16, load a wheelbarrow with sandbags as Hollywood residents join South Floridians in preparation for possible flooding due to Hurricane Milton in Broward and Miami-Dade counties at Jefferson Park in Hollywood, Florida, on October 8, 2024. Carl Juste [email protected]

In the last three days, South Florida has been pummeled by heavy rain, leading to flooded streets, soggy lawns and multiple weather alerts and flood watches by the National Weather Service.

Broward County has seen 2 to 4 inches of rain and Miami-Dade has seen 3 to 8 inches thus far, according to Sammy Hadi, a meteorologist at the NWS Miami.

But the monsoon has not been from Hurricane Milton, which is still in the Gulf of Mexico, but that of another system that has been hovering over South Florida since Sunday.

“At this point, we haven’t actually experienced the impacts of Milton just yet, all of this has just been a system in front of Milton,” Hadi said.

South Florida is now in a transition period as the first system heads toward the Northeast while Milton barrels toward southwest Florida as a powerful Category 4 storm, Hadi said. Milton is expected to make landfall late Wednesday evening or early Thursday morning, with a storm surge of up to 15 feet to hit somewhere between Fort Myers Beach and Cedar Key.

Worst weather will start Wednesday

Although South Florida is out of Milton’s direct path, the massive storm will still be felt locally with the worst of it being early Wednesday to Thursday. The National Weather Service issued a tropical storm warning Tuesday morning for many parts of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties. The warning, which means winds up to 39 to 57 mph, is in effect through Thursday.

“It’s a major storm, and it is very important that we remain prepared as our community will be affected by the outer bands of the storm,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a press conference at the county’s Emergency Operations Center in Doral.

In her remarks, Levine Cava also told residents it was time to fortify home doors and windows ahead of Milton.

“Put up your hurricane shutters,” she said, citing guidance sent out by her office. “Fill your cars’ tanks with gasoline.”

Joanna Parnell, 33, right, fills bags with sand as Hollywood residents prepare for possible flooding due to Hurricane Milton in Broward and Miami-Dade counties at Jefferson Park in Hollywood, Florida, on Oct. 8, 2024. Carl Juste [email protected] Flood watch for South Florida

The possibility of flash flooding remains a threat as well as tornadoes, although it’s uncertain as to where exactly the tornadoes could form, Hadi said.

All of South Florida is under a flood watch until Thursday morning, the NWS said in its Tuesday morning forecast. Another 2 to 4 inches of additional rainfall is possible through Thursday and some areas could get up to 7 inches of rain, the NWS said.

Miami Dade and Broward counties can expect sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph and wind gusts of up to 40 to 50 mph, he added.

Miami Herald staff writer Doug Hanks contributed to this report.

Electrical trucks sit parked at Tamiami Park as they wait on standby for the aftermath of Hurricane Milton on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Miami, Fla. D.A. Varela [email protected]

This story was originally published October 8gba777, 2024, 11:26 AM.

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