Meteorologists in Florida are sounding the alarm that torrential rain falling amid abnormally dry conditions will threaten “considerable” flash floods in the Panhandle and Big Bend area later this week.
Below-normal rainfall during August has contributed to “well below normal streamflows” and has “rapidly” increased drought conditions as well as a heightened wildfire risk, said a hydrological outlook published Wednesday afternoon by the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Tallahassee.
August rainfall totals were as much as 6 inches below normal for some parts of Florida. Areas suffering from dry conditions are at risk of flash floods later this week because of an area of stormy weather that has been producing moisture-laden storms across Gulf Coast states.
“We do have the potential for increasing impacts, with possibly 6 to 10 inches of rainfall along the immediate coast,” he said.
Franck added that the rainfall amounts are above normal. They will make up for the deficit Florida experienced in August, but rain will fall in such a short amount of time that it could overwhelm drainage systems and contribute to flash floods.
“The most significant rains are expected to be focused along the Florida Panhandle Coast, with some potential for impactful rainfall further inland, south of the Florida State Line,” the hydrological outlook said.
Gulf Coast storms have already caused life-threatening flash floods across Texas, and the NWS Weather Prediction Center warned that the storms could bring 10 inches or more of rain to the Gulf Coast states through Sunday. NWS Weather Prediction Center meteorologist Richard Bann previously told Newsweek that the Gulf Coast storms are moving slowly through the area, which adds to the rain totals.
Although the highest rainfall is forecast for Florida’s coastline, inland cities can expect 3 to 6 inches of rain.
