NEXT Weather Alert issued for parts of South Florida due to possible flash flood threat
A NEXT Weather alert has been extended for parts of South Florida into Friday as heavy rain pounded the region, bringing the possibility of flash flooding.
"We could be looking at totals anywhere from two to four inches plus, because we've already gotten some spots here that have gone even above that," CBS News Miami's NEXT Weather Chief Meteorologist Ivan Cabrera said.
Flood advisories in Broward and northern Miami-Dade
Advisories were already posted Thursday evening across Broward County, stretching from Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach south into Plantation and Sunrise. Cabrera said the system was acting "like train tracks" over the same neighborhoods, keeping the risk elevated.
"This is going to be a Broward and North Dade event and then we're going to spread things a little bit further to the south for Friday," Cabrera explained.
Torrential rainfall rates
Radar showed rainfall rates topping three inches per hour, with some isolated neighborhoods seeing as much as five inches in only a few hours.
"It's not just that it's raining heavily. You get one to three plus inches an hour, and you keep raining over the same spot, and that's literally what you're going to get," Cabrera said.
A tropical-style pattern
Cabrera said the pattern resembles a tropical system even though no named storm is impacting the region directly.
"It's more of a tropical event. And we get, like a tropical system on top of us. You get that warm rain that just continues to be relentless at times, especially overnight," he explained.
While gusts up to 30 mph are possible along the coast, the main risk remains flash flooding.
Friday morning commute concerns
Cabrera warned that the flooding threat could complicate the early Friday commute.
"Everybody likes rain at night. Problem is this could turn into a big flood event and then everybody trying to get to work in the mornings can have a big problem," he said.
The Weather Prediction Center has placed South Florida at a Level 1 out of 4 flood risk, with possible upgrades on Friday.
Wet weekend ahead
Cabrera cautioned that the unsettled pattern may linger through the weekend.
"We may have to extend [the alert] as we head into other weekend, and the reason for that, obviously, is just additional rain," he said. "Saturday still pretty wet, on and off, rain and Sunday will be the same."
The NEXT Weather team will continue to provide updates.