So, Florida recently got pounded with rain from those Caribbean-influenced storms that hit earlier this week. Sarasota alone got drenched with over 10 inches of rain since Tuesday!
The heavy downpours led to some serious flooding in the southwest areas like Fort Myers and Sarasota, where a 52-year-old rainfall record was shattered by nearly an inch in just one hour. Imagine that!
One Sarasota local shared a video of the flooding in St Armand’s Circle. It’s like instant history in the making!
Sarasota officials officially confirmed that over 10.3 inches of rain had poured down since Tuesday. An insane amount, right? There was a record-breaking 3.93 inches that fell in just one hour on Tuesday evening, setting a major weather milestone since 1972.
Before this deluge, the previous record stood at 3.03 inches way back in January 2006. Sarasota’s June monthly rainfall average was also exceeded by three inches from this storm. Crazy stuff!
Thankfully, the storms calmed down by 8 am Wednesday, but more are expected throughout the week. #FloridaWeather
Social media lit up with videos of Sarasota’s waterlogged streets, with one clip showing someone pushing a car through knee-deep floods. It’s like a scene from an action movie!
According to Jonathan Petramala on X.com, downtown Sarasota was almost impassable. The community’s pulling together in these soggy times.
The National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch for southern Florida on Tuesday, extended until Thursday evening. So, it’s not over yet. Stay safe and dry, everyone!