Intense rains that stalled over Brevard and Lake counties unleashed nearly 20 inches of rain in 24 hours, triggering dangerous flash floods that stranded cars and inundated roadways, leaving some closed to traffic into Monday.
Forecasters said the colossal amount of rain was comparable to what the Orlando region saw from a hurricane in 2022, underscoring the state's vulnerability to extreme weather far beyond the tropical storms that brew offshore.
“This is very significant rainfall. I mean, this is the type of numbers that we haven’t really seen since Hurricane Ian,” said Zach Law, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service's office in Melbourne in Brevard.
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Parts of Eustis were inundated with 19.7 inches of rain, Mount Dora had 17.76 inches, while Port Saint John, west of the Kennedy Space Center, saw 15.57 inches, according to a 24-hour rainfall analysis by the NWS.
The slow-moving storm system triggered a flash flood emergency in Eustis and Mount Dora on Sunday, with the NWS declaring the event a “particularly dangerous situation,” a strongly worded and rare warning from forecasters.
“That highlights the extent of how significant that event was,” Law said.
Residents in Mount Dora woke up Monday to multiple road closures and at least two roadways left washed out, and one impassable. Local officials there issued a city-wide precautionary boil water notice after a water line break — apparently linked to the flooding — caused water pressure to drop temporarily at both of the city's plants.
Lake County issued a local state of emergency in response to a “flash flooding event that caused significant damage and hazardous conditions across the region.”
“The heavy rain stranded motorists, required rescues and temporary sheltering, and caused the closure or washout of several roadways, including Britt Road, Wolf Branch Road, Timberlake Drive, Limit Avenue and Donnelly Street,” a county news release states. “Sinkholes were also reported in the Eustis area on East Crooked Lake Drive and Country Club Drive.”
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Aerial footage from Orlando television station WFTV showed the floodwaters carved away a large section of land behind a row of homes in a residential neighborhood in Mount Dora, where the ground gave way just shy of the fence line of some houses.
Emergency responders and work crews were out early Monday monitoring conditions and assessing the damage.
A flood watch was in effect into Monday night for parts of Central Florida, including Orlando and Daytona Beach, where more rainfall is expected. Forecasters warn that even 2 to 3 inches of additional rain could significantly impact the region and trigger more flash flooding, posing a potentially deadly danger to drivers who try to navigate inundated roadways.
The Titusville Police Department announced it brought in additional officers to help out through the night.
“We’re asking everyone to stay off the roadways if at all possible — several streets across the city remain under water. Even with warning signs in place, flooded roads can be extremely difficult to see at night,” the department posted on its Facebook page.
Police urged residents to “avoid driving through standing water, check on neighbors who may need assistance and report hazardous conditions right away.”
Information from Joe Byrnes of Central Florida Public Media was used in this report.
