What to Know
- Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was closed until 5 a.m. Friday after a deluge of rain left runways covered in water
- Broward County closed all public schools Thursday as a result of the heavy rain, while Miami-Dade schools will remain open Thursday
- A local state of emergency was declared in Fort Lauderdale, where widespread flooding left streets, homes and businesses drenched
Fort Lauderdale's airport remained closed and all Broward public schools were shut down Thursday after a record-setting amount of rain soaked the area for a third straight day Wednesday, triggering flash flood, tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings.
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Officials at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport said they were expected to remain closed until 5 a.m. Friday, as the airport's runways and roadways were still being impacted by flooding.
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Footage from the airport showed runways covered by water. Many flights were delayed or canceled and passengers reported being stranded.
The airport tweeted early Thursday that the upper-level departures roadway had reopened to allow airport travelers waiting for family and friends to pick them up. The entrance to the lower-level arrivals road was still closed.
Broward County Public Schools officials announced they were shutting down all schools and district offices Thursday due to the flooding. All after-school activities, events and extracurricular activities are also canceled. Miami-Dade schools will remain open.
The Broward County Courthouse and State Attorney's Office were also closed Thursday.
The city of Fort Lauderdale declared an active emergency Thursday morning due to all the flooding.
"Please stay off the roads," the declaration read in part. "There are various arterial roads with broken-down cars and tow trucks continue removing these to improve traffic flow."
In a news release Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Broward hadn't requested assistance from the state, but said the Florida Department of Emergency Management had deployed staff to support local efforts including collecting damage assessment data. He also said the FDEM director had been in contact with the Broward County Emergency Management Director and Fort Lauderdale's City manager.
A flash flood emergency had been issued for parts of Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood, until 2 a.m. Thursday. A flood warning was in effect until 4 p.m. Thursday and a flood watch was in effect until 8 p.m. Thursday.
At one point Wednesday, the National Weather Service urged residents to seek higher ground: "This is a life-threatening situation."
One of the tornado warnings was issued Wednesday night, impacting areas such as Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Davie and Plantation.
4 Tips to Stay Safe During a Tornado in South Florida
Another tornado warning was issued for central Broward until 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, after a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Dania Beach, or near Hollywood, moving northeast at 15 mph, the National Weather Service said.
Another tornado warning was issued for central Broward County before it expired at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
An earlier tornado warning included a small portion of northern Miami-Dade but it expired at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday.
WET WEATHER
One flash flood warning was issued for portions of southern Broward and northern Miami-Dade until 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.
The warning was later extended to 6:45 p.m. but just for a portion of southern Broward.
Another flash flood warning was issued until 7:15 p.m. Wednesday for parts of Broward and north-central Miami-Dade. It included areas in Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Miramar, Coral Springs, Davie, Plantation, Sunrise, Tamarac, Miami Gardens, Lauderhill, Weston, Lauderdale Lakes, Dania Beach, Miami Lakes, Cooper City, Hialeah Gardens, Pine Island Ridge and Sunshine Acres.
Yet another flash flood warning was issued for central Broward until 8:15 p.m. Wednesday.
"Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Between 4 and 7 inches of rain
have fallen during the last couple of hours," the warning said. "Additional rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches are possible with these training thunderstorms in the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly."
"Showers and thunderstorms will continue developing along a warm front that is gradually pushing northward across our area," the National Weather Service in Miami said Wednesday morning. "Due to heavy rain that has fallen over the last three days, soils are very saturated across Miami-dade and Broward counties."
Flooding was being reported at various locations throughout South Florida Wednesday, including in Aventura and at Florida International University's Biscayne Bay Campus.
Flooding was also reported at a parking garage at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, where flight activity was temporarily halted due to the weather.
Officials in Fort Lauderdale also closed the Kinney Tunnel due to the weather.
Heavy street flooding could also be seen at the Dania Pointe shopping center in Dania Beach.
Sunny Isles Beach Police also warned residents about street flooding.
The rain begins to kick out Wednesday evening and we will see a big drop in rain chances late week and into the weekend. The extra sunshine will push highs back into the 80s.
