Fort Lauderdale airport and schools closed due to 20 inches of rain in some areas.

13 APR 2023

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On social media, people posted videos of their homes being flooded amid flashes of thunder.

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water hurrying in the entryway at an air terminal and water almost level with the hoods of vehicles in the city.

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At about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Fort Lauderdale airport tweeted that it would be closed until at least noon Thursday.

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Between 14 and 20 inches of rain have drenched the greater Fort Lauderdale metro area since Wednesday afternoon.

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This amount of rain in a 24-hour period is incredibly rare for South Florida,” said meteorologist Ana Torres-Vazquez from the weather service’s Miami forecast office.

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Rainfall of 20 to 25 inches is similar to what the area can receive with a high-end hurricane over more than a day, Torres-Vazquez explained.

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Fort Lauderdale was “experiencing severe flooding in multiple areas of the city,” Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said on social media.

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About 5 to 10 miles southeast of Fort Lauderdale, rain fell at a rate of about 2 to 3.5 inches an hour.

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