Kimberly Miller
Skies darkened and clouds massed with a soggy mayhem plaguing the Florida Peninsula in recent days as quantities of rainfall were measured in feet and by how deep flood waters rose on stalled cars scattered like Hot Wheels.
It was an assault of 1.9 trillion gallons in a 24-hour period from Nov. 1 through Nov. 2 according to meteorologist Ryan Maue — a menace that stopped Brightline in its tracks, flooded hundreds of homes, rerouted polling places, triggered states of emergency, forced scores of rescues from flooded cars, roadways and houses, closed schools and opened emergency operations centers.
In West Palm Beach where a century-old rain record was broken Monday with 7.4 inches falling at President Donald J. Trump International Airport, the EOC was at a level 2 activation because of countywide flooding and Sunday's likely weather-related Learjet 60 crash.
Two-day rainfall rates showed a maximum of nearly 19 inches falling in isolated areas including parts of Palm Beach Gardens, according to the South Florida Water Management District.
Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties enacted local states of emergency with two shelters opening in Indian River County.
But it was Brevard County that may have been most overwhelmed by the tropical deluge.
In a 36-hour period preceding the early morning hours of Tuesday, Nov. 3, about 23.7 inches of rain fell around the Town of Grant-Valkaria south of Palm Bay. Palm Bay received nearly 20 inches of rain in the same time period. The Weather Prediction Center said 24.1 inches of rain was measured Nov. 1 through early Nov. 3 in Malabar.
National Weather Service meteorologist William Ulrich, who is based in the Melbourne office, said the amount of rainfall exceeded the threshold for a 1-in 1,000-year rainfall event.
The designation means there is a 0.1% chance of rainfall of that magnitude happening in any given year, not that it can only happen once every 1,000 years, Ulrich noted.
“It’s definitely a more unusual set up,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Dave Simmers about the weather pattern causing the prolonged heavy rainfall. “In the Palm Bay and Melbourne area they had upwards of 17 inches of rain in 24 hours, which is pretty incredible.”
What are the rain chances in Florida for the rest of the week?
Rain chances in areas of the Treasure and Space coasts are expected to decrease Tuesday, Nov. 3, but saturated soils and the continued potential for isolated rainfall of up to 2.5 inches meant a flood warning was in effect in the early morning hours, transitioning to a flood watch at 10 a.m.
U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-FL, said on social media that an estimated 400 homes in Brevard County had some water encroachment as of Monday evening.
Brightline train service between West Palm Beach and Orlando was suspended indefinitely Monday because of “high water conditions impacting the rail corridor in Brevard County.”
A cog-like set up of troughs and fronts and mid-level circulations in the atmosphere combined with rich tropical moisture is to blame for the prolonged, widespread showers and thunderstorms.
Marc Chenard, a meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center, said a system that was over Texas last week meandered east then dove south and was helping concentrate the prolonged showers and thunderstorms.
At the same time, there’s a soupy easterly breeze coming off the Atlantic Ocean pumping in moisture and smacking into a westerly wind higher in the atmosphere.
That coastal convergence of winds plus a steering current too sluggish to push storms along allowed showers to plant themselves over coastal areas from Miami through Titusville and also deeper inland to Highlands, Glades and Okeechobee counties.
Florida rainfall records fell all over the state
Other rainfall totals tallied Sunday through early Tuesday include:
? West Palm Beach, 22.2 inches
? Melbourne Beach, 19.8 inches
? Riviera Beach, 14.6 inches
? Port St. Lucie, 14.2 inches
? Fort Pierce, 13.6 inches
“What makes this unusual is it’s an early dry season event that’s not associated with any particular cold front system or any tropical system,” said Lake Worth Drainage District Executive Director Tommy Strowd.
In South Florida, the dry season runs from Oct. 15 through May. 15.
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Strowd said he drove through more than a foot of water Tuesday in his Riviera Beach community, which had more than 15 inches of rain through midday Monday.
The Drainage District and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) are making maximum discharges from canals to the Intracoastal in an effort to lower water levels. The SFWMD sent a notice late Monday that it was setting up high-volume pumps to get water out of flooded communities.
Despite lowering its canals ahead of the rains to make room for extra water, the Lake Worth Drainage District said they were quickly filled by the rainfall volume.
“One of the frustrations in neighborhoods will be clogs in local systems slowing down the recovery so there will be some extended periods of street flooding,” Strowd said. “In the world of water management, the silver lining is we aren’t dealing with this amount of rain during a major wind event.”
A cool front will push through Florida by the end of the week
Closer to the end of the week, a cool front attached to an area of low pressure moving over the Great Lakes will drag through Florida. The Weather Prediction Center has it pushing into the Florida Straits, with drier area for even the most southern reaches of the state.
The front will move through the Panhandle on Wednesday into Thursday bringing spotty showers and thunderstorms. Weekend temperatures drop into the low to mid 70s for high temperatures and hover in the 50s for overnight lows.
Temperatures in the Treasure Coast and South Florida aren’t expected to take much of significant plunge, but humidity levels should wane with drier air.
“That upper low is starting to loosen its grip and we shouldn’t see as nearly as many thunderstorms today (Oct. 3) and Wednesday,” Simmers said. Then there is a cold front coming to really dry things out. The lower humidity may not last for very long, but any relief is good.”
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for the USA TODAY NETWORK FLORIDA. She covers weather, the environment and critters as the Embracing Florida reporter. If you have news tips, please send them to [email protected]. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.