Flood watch issued for South Florida through Saturday

Heavy rain, potential for flooding possible

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – A flood watch has been issued for all of South Florida.

The National Weather Service in Miami said the flood watch was in effect for Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and mainland Monroe counties from 11 a.m. Thursday through Saturday morning.

Local 10 News chief meteorologist Betty Davis said South Florida can expect on and off rain and a potential for flooding in the next few days courtesy of a trough of low pressure lingering over South Florida. She said most of the tougher storms will be over Bimini.

"Over the next five days, it has a 40 percent change of evolving. Eventually, it moves over toward the western Atlantic, and once it gets over there, it may try to get its act together before it gets sort of sucked up by a front," Davis said. 

She said anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of rain can be expected through the weekend.

A water pump in the heart of Brickell was a welcomed site Thursday for residents who have dealt with and fear the return of problematic flooding in the area, like what happened just last month.

"You see water all the way up to here. You know, people just taking their pants up and it's like you're in a pool kind of. It's crazy though," Brickell resident Marcella Toban said.

People were dashing through the raindrops Thursday and getting by problem free.

But the Shops at Mary Brickell Village are on guard with enough sandbags just in case.

"(It's) annoying because we're here on vacation and it's just, we got here one week ago and it was amazing, and now it's just horrible," Ben Weber, who was visiting Miami from Germany, said.

Things were just as wet Thursday in Broward County as seemingly nonstop rain pelted the pavement overnight and well into the morning.

The area, including West Park, had been under an urban flood advisory for a good chunk of the day.

Video from Interstate 95, just south of Interstate 595, shows the wet commute that many drivers had to face in the morning.

In Miami, near Northeast 25th Street and Second Avenue, the road was underwater thanks to some clogged drains.

A business owner brought in his own pump to keep the water at bay.

"It is a headache for everybody, you know. It's been a long time. Right now, nobody do anything," Luis Sanchez, of Pizza Vice, said.

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About the Authors:

Terrell Forney joined Local 10 News in October 2005 as a general assignment reporter. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, but a desire to escape the harsh winters of the north brought him to South Florida.