Flood Warnings Run Through Tuesday Morning on Florida's East Coast as Broward Copes With Flash Flooding
The National Weather Service kept a Flood Warning running until 9:30 a.m. Tuesday from Brevard to St. Lucie counties, where flooding was already occurring on saturated ground, after a Monday night of flash flood warnings across Broward and Palm Beach — the east-coast half of a flood emergency that has put seven Florida counties under a state declaration.
While the rivers rose on Florida's west side, the east coast spent Monday night under warnings of its own. The National Weather Service in Melbourne issued a Flood Warning at 9:15 p.m. Monday, running until 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, for southeastern Brevard, eastern Indian River, northeastern Martin and St. Lucie counties — Port St. Lucie, Palm Bay, Melbourne, Fort Pierce, Sebastian, Stuart and Vero Beach among them — saying flooding was already occurring as more downpours moved over saturated ground, and that additional Flash Flood Warnings might be needed overnight. Parts of Brevard County have taken an estimated 15 to 20 inches of rain in this event, according to the Weather Service.
South of there, the Weather Service in Miami issued a Flash Flood Warning at 8:52 p.m. Monday for central Broward County — Plantation, Sunrise, Tamarac and Lauderhill — after 3 to 5 inches of rain, running until 10:45 p.m., and extended a Flash Flood Warning until 10 p.m. for northern Broward and southeastern Palm Beach counties, including Pompano Beach, Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach, after 4 to 6 inches. On the St. Johns River, flood warnings continue near Cocoa, above Lake Harney, at Sanford and at DeLand through the week. Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in seven counties — Brevard, Hardee, Highlands, Indian River, Martin, St. Lucie and DeSoto — spanning both coasts of the same storm-soaked peninsula.
For Lee and Collier counties, Tuesday is the quiet side of the state: Fort Myers's own forecast, on the station's live feed, is a high of 82 with a 26 percent precipitation chance. The danger this morning is the commute into and out of the warned counties on the east coast — roads under water in the dark, on ground that cannot take another inch. The Melbourne warning expires at 9:30 a.m.; whether it is extended depends on what the overnight downpours actually delivered, and the Weather Service's next statements will say so.
