Flood advisory issued for parts of South Florida. Here’s what the forecast looks like

Jimena Tavel
·3 min read
47

The southern United States experienced a heat wave this weekend with triple-digit temperatures affecting more than 40 million people but that type of intense heat should not arise this week in most of South Florida, forecasts indicated Monday.

But heavy rains and summer thunderstorms, which drenched South Florida Monday, are likely.

The National Weather Service issued flash flood and severe thunderstorm warnings from Miami Beach to Sweetwater, and stretching as far south as Cutler Bay, from about 2:30 p.m. until at least 4:45 p.m. Monday.

A person pushes a car through a flooded portion of Northeast 11th Street in downtown Miami as lightning and heavy rain falls over the area on Monday, June 19, 2023.
A person pushes a car through a flooded portion of Northeast 11th Street in downtown Miami as lightning and heavy rain falls over the area on Monday, June 19, 2023.

As of 4 p.m. Monday, as much as 5 inches of rain had fallen in central Miami-Dade County.

Here’s a look ahead into what you can expect in the coming days:

The seven-day forecast for Miami, as of Monday, doesn’t include numbers high enough to trigger any heat alerts.

But the National Weather Service warned that critical conditions will persist in Texas and Louisiana — and the Florida Keys, where the weather service issued a heat advisory until 5 p.m. Tuesday. Heat index values in the Keys are expected from 108 to 112.

The Weather Service issues a heat advisory when the heat index reaches 105 degrees and a heat warning when the heat index reaches 110 degrees. The heat index measures combined temperature and humidity to calculate how hot it feels in the shade on a particular day.

FROM FRIDAY: Will Miami break a heat record under an extreme weather alert? What the forecast says

As usual, though, you can likely expect daily doses of rain:

  • On Tuesday, meteorologists estimate a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high of about 90 degrees and a heat index value as high as 101.

  • On Wednesday, the chance of precipitation will rise to about 60%. The professionals describe the weather as “partly sunny” with a high of about 90 degrees.

  • On Thursday, the chance of precipitation will rise to about 70%. Partly sunny again, with a high of about 88 degrees.

  • On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the chance of precipitation will stay at 80% and the high temperature is projected to be about 88 degrees.

Melida Ortega, left, and Etna Solis hold an umbrella and walk toward their car as lightning and heavy rain falls over Hobie Island Beach Park on Monday, June 19, 2023, in Miami, Fla.
Melida Ortega, left, and Etna Solis hold an umbrella and walk toward their car as lightning and heavy rain falls over Hobie Island Beach Park on Monday, June 19, 2023, in Miami, Fla.

READ MORE: It’s heat season. Expect more health warnings this summer in Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade County’s heat season, which runs from May 1 to Oct. 31, kills about 34 people and hospitalizes hundreds more each year.

Tropical Depression forms

Tropical Storm Bret has formed in the Atlantic, the National Hurricane Center announced at 5 p.m. Monday, but it’s too soon to tell whether it will affect Florida.

It is expected to approach the Lesser Antilles on Thursday and Friday as a possible hurricane, bringing a risk of flooding from heavy rainfall, hurricane-force winds, and dangerous storm surge and waves, the NHC said.

Currently, the storm is about 1,295 miles east of the southern Windward Islands in the Caribbean Sea — Dominica, Grenada, Martinique, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

READ MORE: Tropical Storm Bret forms in the Atlantic. It’s forecast to become a hurricane

People are seen wearing ponchos as lightning and heavy rain falls over the area on Monday, June 19, 2023, in Miami, Fla.
People are seen wearing ponchos as lightning and heavy rain falls over the area on Monday, June 19, 2023, in Miami, Fla.