Florida faces continued rain threats but downpours will be more typical

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Worst of extreme flash flooding in Florida likely over as moisture drops

A light is at the end of the tunnel for Floridians as Friday marks the beginning of the end of an extreme flooding event. However, it won't be going down without a fight. Even as moisture values in the atmosphere begin to drop, they will still be high enough to allow for the development of more rounds of heavy rain across the southern half of the state.

MIAMI – After parts of Florida received more than 20 inches of rainfall this week, the chances for additional precipitation are expected to continue but not yield anywhere near the amounts experienced earlier in the week.

The evolution of an area of disturbed weather in the tropics, combined with an atmospheric river-type stream of moisture from the Caribbean, helped produce the flooding event.

Without the tropical disturbance or as much broad influence from the south, rainfall totals through the weekend are expected to be in the neighborhood of an inch or two, with isolated communities seeing more. 

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On a typical June day in South Florida, rainfall typically ranges from a third of an inch to half an inch, so the downpours will be more in line with what is typical during the summer.

Of concern to the FOX Forecast Center is the threshold for how much rain is needed to create additional flooding problems.

Before this week’s event, much of South Florida faced rainfall deficits, which allowed for plenty of runoff into lakes and canals. 

Without the space to store additional rainfall, runoff during future downpours is more prone to accumulate in low-lying areas and lead to increased chances of flooding.

SOUTH FLORIDA FACES ‘HIGH RISK’ OF FLASH FLOODING AFTER 20-PLUS INCHES OF RAINFALL

Especially hard hit during the week were cities such as Aventura, Hallandale Beach and Hollywood.

In the hours after the event, Aventura Police said more than 300 vehicles were towed, and a state of emergency was issued for Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota counties. The intense amounts of rain that fell across Miami-Dade County led to a Flash Flood Emergency Wednesday afternoon.

Fort Myers received well over 3 inches of rain each day from Monday through Wednesday, the first time the city has broken three consecutive daily rainfall records since 1979.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says emergency crews have pumped out 12 million gallons of water from flooded areas "with more help on the way."

No deaths associated with the heavy rainfall were reported on the East Coast, but the Florida Highway Patrol said two people were killed on wet roadways in the Fort Myers area.

Florida rainfall totals

(FOX Weather)

Flooding cleanup begins

With the area no longer under Flash Flood Emergency, residents are now left to determine whether insurance will pay for damages.

For homes, Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation says insurance policies typically cover damage from fire, smoke, explosions, lightning, hail, windstorms, theft, vandalism, vehicles, aircraft, riots, civil commotion and volcanic eruptions.

Not included in the coverage are flood events, for which flood insurance policies would kick in during the event of rising water.

Many auto policies are more comprehensive and cover damage incurred during flooding, hailstorms and other extreme weather events.

Insurance experts warn there’s a 30-day waiting period before a flood insurance policy goes into effect, so polices issued in late May or early June will not cover recent damage.

MIAMI RESIDENTS SWAMPED BY FLOODING FLEE TO ORLAND BY TRAIN IN SEARCH OF DRY LAND

June, July, August and September are the region’s wettest months of the year, with Miami averaging some 38.33" during the four months.

Long-term climate outlooks show there shouldn’t be much of a deviation from norms for the Sunshine State, with nearly daily chances of showers and thunderstorms through the early fall.