A city on Florida’s west coast was hit by a record-breaking 8 inches of rain in just three hours on Tuesday evening, bringing flash floods to the area, hindering drivers and delaying hundreds of flights across the state.
So rare was Tuesday’s rain between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. in Sarasota that it should only be expected every 500 to 1,000 years. The Tampa Bay area can normally expect 7.3 inches in the entire month of June.
The 3.93 inches of rain that fell at the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport airport in one hour is also a record.
Coastal areas in Sarasota County saw up to 10 inches of rain on Tuesday alone, with the same possible Wednesday and throughout the week, the NWS office in Tampa Bay said.
A Flood Watch in effect through 8 PM Thu for parts of SW FL. Areas along coastal Sarasota County saw as much as 6-10″ of rain yesterday. Parts of SW FL could see additional rain of up to 6-10″ over the rest of the week. Do not drive or walk through flood waters! pic.twitter.com/ggB3OQu8X9
— NWS Tampa Bay (@NWSTampaBay) June 12, 2024
Video uploaded to social media showed a fire truck and lanes of traffic driving badly flooded roads in Sarasota. Across the region cars became stranded after attempting to drive through deep water, including in Siesta Key to the west of Sarasota.
The weather system was caused by deep tropical moisture from a disturbance called 90-L by the National Hurricane Center, as well as a small area of low pressure of Florida’s west coast and “a very slow-moving stubborn convergent band,” according to Jeff Berardelli, chief meteorologist at NBC affiliate WFLA of Tampa.
More rain is expected throughout this week across the state. The National Weather Service warned residents to expect more than 7 inches of rain in “a prolonged heavy to excessive rainfall event across southern Florida for the next several days,” in a forecast early Wednesday.
The rain comes after parts of Florida have spent many months in a drought. Sarasota has received 25 inches less rain than it normally would since the start of 2023, which was its driest on record.
The area’s extremely dry soil has in part helped to limit flooding, as the soil could absorb more rain then normal, Berardelli wrote.
Miami International Airport reported 462 delays and 52 cancellations, while Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport had 331 delays and 8 cancellations, NBC Miami reported.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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