Severe Storms, Fierce Floods hit South Florida
Pastor Dale Morgan
Severe Storms, Fierce Floods hit South Florida*
* Wild weather floods Miami-Dade
By DOUGLAS HANKS, PERRY STEIN AND JENNIFER LEBOVICH
Miami Herald
Severe storms hit South Florida on Saturday afternoon and meteorologist
warn floods and damage are likely.
''It's going to be wet this afternoon and some storms could be strong or
even close to severe,'' said Barry Baxter, a meteorologist with the
National Weather Service in Miami.
Those storms, which could pack hail and winds, are expected to follow
similar paths of yesterday's showers.
On Friday, afternoon downpours dumped more than nine inches over Miami
Beach in only five hours, causing flooding, power outages and massive
traffic jams during rush hour.
At Miami International Airport, a little more than an inch of rain fell;
at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International about a ½ an inch.
The South Florida storm hit at the height of Friday's rush hour,
accompanied with hail the size of ping pong balls, wicked lightning
strikes, crashing thunder and winds topping 60 mph.
Just six months after a $500 million renovation, The Fontainebleau was
left with an eight-foot hole in its lobby ceiling and ankle-deep water
in its night club.
''It was literally like a waterfall, coming in from the ceiling,'' said
Amy Kates of Rochester, N.Y., who is staying at the Fontainebleau while
her husband attends an orthopedic conference there.
Kates said the hotel staff had blocked off the area under the ceiling
leak, and were pushing the water off the lobby's bow-tie tile floor and
out the front door.
``Then the ceiling caved in.''
Next door, the Eden Roc closed after losing power, sending its guests to
other hotels in the Marriott chain.
Mark Pavlat was one of those displaced guests.
Standing in a line of roughly 50 people outside the darkened hotel, the
chemical salesman from Long Island described the evacuation as a minor
bump in a harrowing day.
Earlier, he was among 70 sales people on a pair of chartered catamarans
sailing the waters off Key Biscayne as the storm approached.
''We noticed you couldn't see Miami anymore,'' Pavlat said. ``Then . . .
we saw two waterspouts.''
The captain loaded lowered the sails, while a passenger rang a ship's
bell and asked for quiet.
''Someone started saying a prayer,'' Pavlat said. ' `Dear Lord, please
protect us all.' ''
Anxiety aboard the catamarans grew when the boats couldn't make it back
to the marina. ''There were people on their cellphones making calls to
loved ones,'' Pavlat said.
But the catamarans did make it safely back and no one was injured.
The wet weather clogged traffic on the causeways connecting Miami and
Miami Beach. Eastbound lanes of the MacArthur Causeway were shut down to
allow drainage and FPL crews to work on electrical lines.
The Venetian was impassable east of the eastern drawbridge. Cars were at
a standstill for hours.
Northbound drivers on Biscayne Boulevard reported that the entire right
lane next to the Omni was axle-deep in water.
Travelers trying to get in and out of Miami International and
Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale airports also endured flight delays. A
Lightning bolt landed struck near a 737 plane parked at the Fort
Lauderdale -Hollywood International airport.
The hailstorm is not particularly unusual, said National Weather Service
meteorologist Robert Molleda, who notes that South Florida typically
sees heavy rainstorms with hail a few times a year.
Friday's storm comes just five days into the 2009 hurricane season.
The wind also grew fierce in some parts of the region. Winds topping 60
mph whipped through Hollywood.
No damage was reported.
Florida Power & Light reported that more than 15,000 customers in
Miami-Dade County were without power Friday night, and more than 1,300
customers in Broward County.
FPL spokesperson Mayco Villafaña said the large number of lightning
strikes in Central Miami-Dade caused most of the power outages. FPL
crews were working into the night to restore power and the outages had
been restored Saturday morning.
Tina Salafatinos lives on Lincoln Road and was in the midst of the
torrential rain on Friday afternoon. From her fifth-story apartment, she
witnessed pedestrians with trash bags tied around each of their feet,
and a submerged cars lining the streets.
''I did not expect this flooding. I looked out my window and it took me
by surprise,'' Salafatinos said. ``I'll be swimming to work [Saturday]
evening if it's still like this.''
At least one resourceful resident had another method to get around: a
kayak was seen paddling down West Avenue.
Despite the scare during his outing on the bay, Pavlat didn't seem too
fazed.
''We love Miami,'' he said. ``This was just a freak of nature.''
The Sun-Sentinel contributed to this report.