Images captured by NASA have mapped record-breaking rainfall in Florida.
Over the past month, a moisture plume from the western Caribbean brought heavy rains to Florida's Gulf Coast, resulting in significant flooding and new precipitation records, the NASA Earth Observatory reported. A slow-moving storm system led to flash flood warnings and road closures across the region.
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The map shared by NASA Earth Observatory shows the accumulation of rainfall for the 24 hours when the rain was falling. Although the state is no stranger to heavy rains, this recent deluge occurs only once every 500 to 1,000 years.
On June 11, Sarasota County experienced some of the heaviest rainfall. The National Weather Service (NWS) station in the city of Sarasota recorded 6.5 inches of rain in 24 hours, breaking the previous record of 2.5 inches set in 1940. Nearby areas received up to 10 inches of rain, with the Sarasota Bradenton Airport reporting at 7 p.m. a record 3.9 inches in just one hour, surpassing the previous hourly record by almost an inch. Typically, Sarasota sees 7 inches of rain for the entire month of June.
Further south, Fort Myers and Naples set new daily precipitation records on June 11. Miami came close to breaking its rainfall record, which caused hundreds of flight delays and cancellations at Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports. The deluge was intense enough to affect aviation operations significantly, according to NWS measurements.
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Meteorologists said such an extreme event statistically occurs only once every 500 to 1,000 years. The rainfall data, sourced from the Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for GPM under the Global Precipitation Measurement mission, indicates that these figures might differ from ground-based measurements.
The forecast predicted continued heavy rainfall and potential flash flooding across Florida as tropical moisture interacts with a stationary front to the north. This rain provided some respite from the drought conditions affecting Central and South Florida, highlighting the region's vulnerability to both drought and flood extremes.
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Florida experiences heavy rainfall because of its unique geographic location and climate. Because it is situated between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, the state is frequently subjected to moist, warm air masses. During the summer, the state's proximity to the tropics results in daily afternoon thunderstorms triggered by intense solar heating and sea breezes.
Additionally, Florida is often in the path of tropical storms and hurricanes, which can bring torrential rains. These factors combine to make Florida one of the wettest states in the country.
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Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more
