Flood watch! South Florida pummeled by torrential showers

 

Torrential rain walloped South Florida forcing authorities to extend a flood watch across parts of South Florida into Wednesday as the weather gears up to drench the area for the next few days.

A Flash Flood Warning was issued for parts of Broward County until 4:45 a.m. Wednesday, as flooding was reported in some areas, including the parking lot at Sawgrass Mills. That has since expired, but a new Flood Warning has been issued for the northeast part of the county.

A Flood Watch remains in effect in South Florida until 8 p.m. Wednesday, includes all parts of Miami-Dade, Broward and sections of Palm Beach

Some areas of South Florida recorded record rain totals on Tuesday, with Plantation and Boca Raton reporting over 11 inches of rain while Deerfield Beach and Coral Springs had locations reporting just over 10 inches.

In Davie County a seven-foot alligator was caught by a trapper very close to homes.

The heavy rains also caused flight delays and cancellations. At Fort Lauderdale / Hollywood International Airport, 31 flights have been delayed and 19 have been canceled. At Miami International Airport, 22 have been delayed and 24 have been canceled.

Officials with the National Weather Service confirmed a weak EF-0 tornado touched down in Broward County near the intersection of Flamingo Road and Sheridan Street Monday night. No major damage was reported. On Tuesday morning, a tornado warning was issued for the far western part of Broward County, along with neighboring Collier County.

Both Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve were closed due to flooding on Tuesday.