After 4 to 9 inches of rain fell Tuesay in central Miami-Dade County, the threat for locally heavy rains continued Wednesday.
A flood watch remains in effect for all of Miami-Dade County through 8 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Services says.
A record 5.54 inches of rain fell in Miami Tuesday, easily eclipsing the previous high total for May 22, according to the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for northeastern Miami-Dade and southeastern Broward until 1 p.m., including the areas of Tamarac, Sunrise, Pompano Beach, and Plantation.
Flooding was reported in areas throughout Miami-Dade, even causing Miami-Dade College to cancel classes on its West Campus. Morning classes were again suspended Wednesday.
Some of the heaviest flooding was reported in Doral and Sweetwater, where record rainfall was recorded.
In Doral, officials reported severe flooding on several streets, including: Northwest 79th Avenue between Northwest 25th Street and Northwest 58th Avenue; Northwest 84th Avenue at Northwest 36th Street; Northwest 87th Avenue at Northwest 36th Street; and Northwest 33rd Street between Northwest 82nd Avenue and Northwest 97th Avenue.
Doral Public Works personnel were doing a citywide assessment Wednesday.
“We are trying to provide people with an alternative. If they’re experiencing some flooding issues we’re providing sandbags free of charge,” Public Works Director Eric Carpenter said.
The water was about an inch deep in Dennis Honeywell’s house in Doral.
“We were up until two in the morning bailing water out of the house,” he said.
Streets in Honeywell’s neighborhood near Northwest 97th Avenue and Northwest 25th Street looked like canals, as photos he took showed.
Just two blocks away, Rick Carcas’ street was dry, as the storm drains there appeared to function better. He said only so much water can go down the drain “when you have canals that are not going out to the ocean anymore.”
“Mother nature is Mother Nature. At some point you have to give her the credit for some of this,” he said.
Sweetwater officials said all city streets were dry Wednesday and there were no reports of residential or business flooding.
For Wednesday, expect cloudy skies with scattered downpours and highs at 84. Some thunderstorms are possible and rainfall amounts could range from one to three inches.
The threat for heavy rain across South Florida and the Keys will continue overnight. Low temperatures will level out in the mid-70s.
While there might be a little more sunshine Thursday, afternoon showers and thunderstorms are still possible.
Storm chances continue through the work-week with more sunshine in the forecast over the long holiday weekend.
