Florida’s 2024 hurricane season arrives with a rainy deluge
The annual rainy season has arrived with a bang in much of Florida, where a disorganized disturbance of tropical weather from the Gulf of Mexico has caused street flooding and tornado watches but has so far caused no major damage or injuries causes.
The rainy season in Florida begins roughly in June with the start of the six-month hurricane season, which takes place this year are expected to be among the most active in recent memory. According to the National Hurricane Center, the disturbance has not yet reached cyclone status and had only a slim chance of forming into a tropical system once it empties into the Atlantic Ocean after crossing Florida.
“Regardless of development, heavy rainfall is expected to continue across portions of the Florida Peninsula over the next several days,” the hurricane center wrote on its website Wednesday.
Numerous roads were flooded and impassable to vehicles, including part of the main artery of Interstate 95 in Broward County. The Florida Highway Patrol said southbound traffic was being diverted around the flooded section.
“This closure will remain in place until further notice and water is flowing from the highway. Contractors are on their way to pump the drainage system,” FHP said in an email.
It’s already been a wet and stormy week in Florida, especially in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas. About 6 inches of rain fell in Miami on Tuesday and 17 inches in Miami Beach, according to the National Weather Service. Hollywood, just south of Fort Lauderdale, received about 12 inches.
More rain was forecast for the rest of the week, leading the Miami weather bureau to extend its flash flood warning through Thursday. Another six inches of rain could fall in some places.
The western side of the state, much of which is already in place a prolonged drought, also received some major rainfall. In Sarasota, nearly 6.5 inches of rain fell at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport on Tuesday, the weather service said, and flash flood warnings were also in effect in those areas.
The deluge comes amid forecasts of an unusually busy hurricane season.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates there is an 85% chance that the Atlantic hurricane season will be above average, predicting between 17 and 25 named storms in the coming months, including up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes. An average season has fourteen named storms.