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25 inches of rain; airport shut down

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South Florida was under siege and under water Thursday amid a storm that dumped 25 inches of rain over some coastal areas, flooding homes and highways and forcing shut down of a major airport.

Fort Lauderdale was slammed with 25.95 inches of rainfall over the last two days and nearby Dania Beach recorded 21.42 inches, AccuWeather reported. Some areas received 20 inches of rain in six hours. Hollywood and South Miami received at least 9 inches of rain.

A flood watch was in effect across much of South Florida through Thursday night, the National Weather Service said.

Sections of I-95, the state’s main north-south traffic artery, were overwhelmed by water for several hours. Fort Lauderdale Fire Chief Stephen Gollan warned of “severe flooding in multiple areas” of the city of 180,000 residents.

“Stay off the roads until some of this water dissipates,” Fort Lauderdale Fire Chief Stephen Gollan warned. “There are cars getting stuck in flooded waters, just (adding) to the emergencies that are taking place.”

HISTORIC STORM FORECAST:First April tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico? Latest forecast says history unlikely.

Latest developments:

►Broward County shut down all of its more than 300 public schools because of the weather crisis.

►Video from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport showed water coming in the door at an airport terminal and a virtual river rushing down the tarmac between planes.

Fort Lauderdale flooding, rains a 1-in-1000-year event’; tornadoes possible

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for Fort Lauderdale and other areas into Thursday as the chance of thunderstorms continued across the region, warning: “This is a life-threatening situation. Seek higher ground now!”

Weather service meteorologist Ana Torres-Vasquez said the rain in the Fort Lauderdale area was a “1-in-1,000-year event or more” – meaning it’s so intense the chance of it happening in any given year is just 0.1%.

“This amount of rain in 24 hours is incredibly rare in South Florida,” Torres-Vasquez told CNN.

Heavy rain was possible late Thursday, especially over the metro areas of Broward and Miami Dade Counties, the weather service said, which could lead to flooding especially across areas that are already saturated from recent heavy rainfall. Scattered thunderstorms were expected to continue into Thursday evening, some severe in nature with damaging winds and hail up to the size of quarters. A few brief tornadoes were possible, forecasters said.

WHAT IS A FLASH FLOOD WATCH OR WARNING?Here’s what to know about this deadly weather hazard

Fort Lauderdale airport shut down after ‘unprecedented rainfall’

The storms prompted Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to suspend all flights Wednesday afternoon through at least Thursday at noon. Access was the issue – the airport’s roadways were shut down by flooding. Travelers were warned not to attempt to enter or leave the airport. More than 640 flights were canceled through Wednesday and early Thursday.

“While stalled vehicles are being removed from the upper/lower levels, the main exit artery remains flooded & congested with slow-moving traffic,” the airport said in a statement early Thursday. “We ask for your patience as we wait to safely assess the impacts of this unprecedented rainfall to restore airport operations when it is safe.”

THURSDAY FORECAST:Fire fears stretch across the country; storms possible in the Plains, Southeast

Threat of severe flooding to spread up to Carolinas

Thunderstorms and winds continued to gain strength over the northern and eastern Gulf of Mexico, Accuweather warned. The threats are forecast to spread across parts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas into Friday evening.

Late last week forecasters had warned the emerging storm system could become the first April tropical storm ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico. AccuWeather reported on Monday that the conditions for a tropical storm to develop had deteriorated but warned of heavy rains, gusty winds and thunderstorms.

Contributing: The Associated Press



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