MIAMI – South Florida will be bracing for another multiday flash-flood threat this week as a storm system pushes into the region and brings more wet weather, adding to the already record-breaking rainfall totals the Sunshine State has received in 2023.
The FOX Forecast Center said the excessive rainfall risk is due to the presence of a stalled-out cold front along the Florida Straits, as well as an approaching disturbance in the mid-levels of the atmosphere.
This will allow periods of heavy rain and possible thunderstorms to drench the region starting Wednesday and lasting into the weekend.
However, computer forecast models are not in agreement about where the approaching low-pressure system will push into Florida.
“(NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center) is looking at the European model on this one because they’ve got this low-pressure region developing right around the Gulf of Mexico and moving into southern Florida,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen said. “The American model brings it into the Big Bend area, so we’ll see what happens. But either way, heavy rain is a potential out there for later this week.”
There is the potential for several inches of rain to soak much of the Sunshine State through the end of the week, with the highest rainfall totals possible on the east coast of Florida, especially in South Florida.
As of Tuesday, lower amounts are expected across the Florida Panhandle and into North Florida, with the potential for 2-3 inches of rain in cities like Jacksonville.
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Higher amounts of 3-5 inches are possible for a larger area of Florida, including Tampa, Orlando and Melbourne.
But once you head into the West Palm Beach area and South Florida, 5-8 inches of rain could fall over the next several days. This means cities like Miami and Fort Lauderdale are at risk of seeing flash flooding from this latest rainfall event.
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Miami and Fort Lauderdale don’t need the extra rain.
Both cities are already seeing a massive surplus of rain and have experienced several days of flooding this year.
So much rain has fallen in South Florida this year that Fort Lauderdale has been named the wettest major city in America, with more than 100 inches so far in 2023 and a little more than two weeks left in the year.
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Miami is already sitting nearly 14 inches above average when it comes to rainfall totals this year, and that number is set to rise with more precipitation on the way.
Fort Lauderdale is nearly 50 inches above average, and it’s increasingly likely that the area will continue to add to its record-breaking rainfall total in 2023.