While the tropical disturbance in the Atlantic is not expected to hit South Florida, forecasters say it might bring heavy rainfall and flooding over the weekend. On Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service issued a flood watch for all of South Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and the Keys.
The watch has been issued for Miami, Broward and Palm Beach until Sunday evening and the Keys through Sunday morning. NWS is calling for widespread rainfall totals of four to eight inches across South Florida with localized higher amounts of 12 inches possible.
The disturbance has been labeled Potential Tropical Cyclone Four by the National Hurricane Center, which also notes that there’s a 90% chance it will strengthen into a tropical storm over the next seven days, and 80% over the next two days.
It is currently moving over Cuba and is expected to move near Florida’s west coast, into the Gulf of Mexico. If it were to strengthen, the next name on the 2024 season’s list is Debby.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for most Florida counties on Thursday, but those don’t include Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach. Monroe County is included.
Stay safe out there, and as always, check out all the latest weather updates and advisories with NWS Miami-South Florida and visit hurricanes.gov.