By the numbers: The NWS office in Miami tweeted that preliminary data showed a potentially historic 20 inches of rain had fallen in six hours in Fort Lauderdale. This likely qualifies as a 1-in-1,000-year rainfall event for that location.
- To put this another way, a 1,000-year event means there is a 0.1% chance of it occurring in any individual year.
- According to the NWS, the 24-hour preliminary rainfall total at Ft. Lauderdale was 25.6 inches, which agency meteorologist Victor Murphy noted would be an all-time state record for the most 24-hour rainfall.
during just the past two years. This includes St. Louis, Missouri, Dallas, Texas, and Hazard, Kentucky.
What’s next: A flood watch is in effect for Ft. Lauderdale and Miami today, as more rain is expected.