Much of South Florida came under a flood watch Sunday as heavy rain forecast for the Memorial Day weekend hammered the peninsula.
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Broward, Miami-Dade, mainland Monroe and Collier counties could see up to 4 inches of rain by Tuesday, with some areas getting up to 6 inches, the National Weather Service’s Miami office said. A European weather model that earlier accurately called for the sodden weekend forecast up to 11 inches of rain in some places, said NBC6 Chief Meteorologist John Morales.
As the holiday weekend continues, several rounds of storms are expected, packing heavy rain and thunder, the weather service said. The flood watch remains in effect through Monday evening. The watch was extended to Palm Beach County just before noon.
In some coastal areas, flooding could be worsened by high tides. A tide peaked in Miami Beach just before 10 a.m. Sunday at just under two and a half feet. Biscayne Bay hit two feet about 11 a.m. The next high tide is expected between 10:30 and 11:30 p.m. Sunday and could be more than two inches higher.
The heavy rain also showed up on volunteer rain monitors that are part of the weather service’s Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network reported between an inch to over two inches by 7 a.m. Sunday. A Coral Gables gauge hit over 3.5 inches by 11 a.m.
