Blown Forecasts and Flooded, Stranded Shoppers...

How did this happen?

A blown forecast. Plain and simple.

The forecast for today in South Florida did NOT call for a foot of rain and localized flash flooding.

It called for a strong chance of rain, possible thunderstorms and stronger weather tomorrow.

The Malls are open til midnight in some places... people are at the movies while their significant others are shopping. People were out at Holiday parties and at the Heat game. People are parked in parking lots that are now flooded and stranded at the mall and downtown and on the highways.

Nice to say "do not venture out onto the roads" except that is it too much too late and more a matter of like locking the barn door after the cows were gone a shopping.



Around 3pm we drove up to Barnes and Noble. When we went inside the sky was purple and little dangling cloud formations were hanging low, possibly waterspouts nearby in the Bay. A few minutes after taking this picture the sky opened up. We came out an hour later and the parking lot was predictably flooded (it's a block from the Bay and always floods a bit in a strong storm) and I took my shoes off and waded through ankle high water. I took this picture before going into the heavier water as I didn't want to lose my cell phone into the lake that was in front of me...





Bad pic taken in heavy storm of streets beginning to flood... this should have been the first clue but nothing big on the news... nothing about 11 inches of rain..



Took almost 45 minutes to get home through flooded, congested streets..a ride that normally would be 15 minutes. They were saying on the radio that I95 was backed up from the Julia Tuttle to the Ives Dairy. That's a lot of back up...

At six thirty or so it started raining again. Everyone came over for a big Chanukah party my family was having.

At eight pm my son called from Hollywood.. Harrison Street was flooded out, water in the stores six inches high..nothing draining and he was having problems keeping traction on the road when buses went by... the car floated... They gave up their plans, drove down to pick up my daughter and take refuge here...

At 8:30 it started to flood where we were...

Around 9 pm the weather radio went off and began issuing a Flash Flood Advisory.

I'm sorry...that's a little too late..

Around 9:30 people began to pack up... during a slight stop in the rain ...

One son made it home ... passed cars parking on people's lawns and flooded out.

One son got home and they had to walk up 7 flights of stairs as the elevator was out and the garage flooding.

One son..the one stuck earlier in Hollywood who has always been a hail/storm magnet had to abandon his car a block from where these pics were taken and had to wade home with his wife and my daughter in water above their knees... he told me high tide is around 9am and they will see then what is going on.. He lives on the Bay...sort of.. well he does now.

A very blown forecast and it's nice that the Hallandale Police are driving up and down with loud speakers telling people to park their cars and get out and off the roads.. but why was this not forecast earlier?

"Turn around and don't drown" is a nice saying but there was no warning out even at 3 pm or 4 pm that this could happen. Some streets are flooded with water in their homes and businesses. The Malls who have storage on the ground floor are going to be a mess.

Miami is used to rain but it hasn't rained like this for months, it's been a quiet summer and we have barely had afternoon thunderstorms, no tropical storms or hurricanes and this came out of nowhere during what is pretty much the beginning of our dry season.

Tomorrow the forecast is for more rain.. more of the same.

Flash Flood Warning current now until 1:30 am...

Okie Dokie... reminds me of the flood on Miami Beach earlier this year..


Wind gusts to 25 mph, cloud to ground lightning strikes, torrential rains, localized flooding... "do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways"...

Right...

My neighbors lights are out.. am sure FPL will come out and fix it... they are good ..they do their job...

Somehow I think the local forecasters fell down on their job... missed this particular flood.

Good thing Noah listened to God and not the weathermen...

Night... Bobbi
"remember turn around...don't drown"

Some good news links:

http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI139080/

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-rain-cold-20091216,0,3099700.story