West Palm Beach, FL
- South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) water managers are preparing the flood control system for expected weekend rainfall, the result of a cold front interacting with a possible tropical system. The system is expected to drop an average of 1-3 inches of rain over areas south and east of Lake Okeechobee, including coastal Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. The local maximum rainfall is forecast to be as high as 5 inches.
Water managers are currently conducting pre-storm preparations, such as lowering canal water levels. The District has already lowered most canals and other parts of the regional flood control system in the Lower East Coast to the lower end of their operating ranges as part of Hurricane Irma recovery efforts. Those areas will be kept lower in anticipation of this weekend's rainfall.
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Click on the map to see South Florida rainfall totals from May 21 through Oct. 20. |
SFWMD is also coordinating with local drainage districts and municipalities to help them prepare for this weekend's rainfall in their local drainage systems.
The entire 16-county area served by SFWMD has already received historic rainfall over the past five months, with more than 50 inches falling across South Florida from May 21 to Oct. 20. That is 146 percent of average rainfall, or nearly 16 inches more than average for this period. This is the first time since 1947 that more than 50 inches of rain has fallen on South Florida during the first five months of the wet season.
For more updates on SFWMD's work:
