Historic rain event sets records in Central Florida, causes major flooding along coast

PALM BAY, Fla. - From Thursday into early Friday morning, a really remarkable and rare meteorological setup impacted Florida, transforming it from the Sunshine State to a stormy state. 

When you look at many of the rain records for the state of Florida during the month of November, most are from tropical storms or hurricane remnants traversing the state. What happened this year was a complicated collision of fronts and low-pressure centers, in a non-tropical fashion, that caused rare rains.

In fact, three record-setting zones of rain occurred in Florida. One that made headlines nationally was the torrential rain in South Florida where well over a foot of rain fell earlier in the week. Shattering daily and monthly records. In fact, Fort Lauderdale is now having its wettest year in recorded history. 

The second zone is near Lake Mary, Sanford, and the eastern Orlando suburbs and the third is in southern Brevard County and far northern Indian River County. Over 20 inches of rain fell in just over a day's time. 

"Statistically, this is one in an approximately 700-year flood event," said FOX 35 Storm Team Meteorologist Noah Bergren. "Now, let's be clear about what that means. A 700-year flood does NOT mean one would occur every 700 years. It means there is a one in 700 chance of it occurring in any given year, or, a 0.142% chance of it occurring at any point in time. Now you can see, remarkably rare!"

Rain totals across the eastern half of the FOX 35 viewing area were impressive. Thursday was the wettest November day in Lake Mary and Sanford area history. It will remain fifth on the list for Orlando (at MCO) for the wettest November day on record at 3.48 inches on just November 16. 

"This could be a sign of what will be an active winter of rain and storms ahead for Florida, given the Northern Hemisphere remains under the influence of a very strong El Niño," Bregren added, "which most times causes tons of rain and severe storm chances in winter across North Central Florida."

Flooding along Central Florida’s Atlantic Coast followed those heavy rains that lashed the state Thursday evening. The National Weather Service (NWS) said the rain, accompanied by a strong northeasterly wind could also create dangerous surf conditions.

In Volusia County, the Port Orange Police Department was urging residents to exercise caution while driving, as floodwaters could lead to road closures. Similar scenarios were playing out in Daytona Beach. 

Further south in Brevard County, several roads were closed in and around Palm Bay due to extensive flooding, officials said. At least 40-plus cars became stranded in the southern section of the city due to the floodwaters.

Officials are asking residents to stay home if they are located in an area with standing water.

Palm Bay road closures

The following roads are reportedly unpassable and/or flooded:

• San Filippo between Fisher and Fountainbleau with numerous vehicles stuck in the road
• Cogan Between Reading and San Filippo
• Numerous side streets off San Filippo and DeGroodt
• San Filippo / Hagdom
• Bayside Lakes / Eldron (completely unpassable)
• Cogan/Sarasota

As of Friday morning, Thursday's heavy rain had impacted some roads near some Palm Bay schools, delaying student arrival and some school buses, a spokesperson for Brevard Public Schools said in a statement. 

Schools in Brevard County, however, remain open, officials said. "Our schools are open today and ready to welcome students once they arrive at campus. We have had consistent communication with local emergency officials and are told road conditions are improving quickly," the district said.