Heavy Rain is Falling in the Wrong Places

By Martin Merzer and Curtis Morgan, The Miami Herald

Sep. 27–Highway medians resembled canals, canals widened into lakes and your dog suspected that he’d been transferred to the Amazon rain forest, but the unfortunate truth was this:

Though South Florida has been drenched and scattered showers could return today, most of the rain has fallen in the wrong place — on us.

Lake Okeechobee remains well below its normal level, and the regional drought, though surely not getting any worse, also is not getting much better.

"We’re almost certainly looking at water restrictions again next year," said Jesus Rodriguez, spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District, which controls the water supply for 16 counties.

Meteorologists said the persistent mass of tropical moisture — one of six disturbances monitored by hurricane specialists — finally is pulling away from South Florida, temporarily improving conditions.

Today’s forecast: partly sunny, with a 40 percent chance of rain.

During the past few days, many parts of Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties have received five or more inches, flooding intersections, snarling traffic and wrecking nerves.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in West Miami-Dade attributed the squalls to a low pressure system that had been centered near the Lower Keys. They said the disturbance could develop into a tropical depression as it leaves Florida and moves over the Atlantic.

Though the southern tip of the state received abundant rain, things haven’t been nearly as soggy elsewhere.

"You can make the case that the drought, the part where we’re not getting enough rain, is over in Miami-Dade," Rodriguez said. "You certainly can’t make the case in other parts of the district."

Miami-Dade, with just over 46 inches, has recorded a tiny fraction above its average rainfall this year. Broward, with 42 inches of rain, has received slightly more than 90 percent of its annual average.

In the rest of the district, which stretches from Orlando to Key West, shortfalls range from seven to nearly 13 inches.

Lake Okeechobee, the region’s water barrel, is still one of the drier spots.

The last few wet days have helped, with the lake rising nearly two-tenths of a foot. But at 9.81 feet above sea level, it remains nearly four feet below normal.

Only a tropical storm or hurricane that dumps torrential rain on the big lake and its watershed could help the region avoid water restrictions next year, Rodriguez said.

Meanwhile:

–A tropical depression slowly meandered through the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, apparently bound for landfall by Friday night between Tuxpan and Veracruz, possibly as Tropical Storm Lorenzo.

–In the open Atlantic, Tropical Storm Karen also grew stronger. Fortunately, it remained about 1,000 miles from the Caribbean islands, and its projected track kept it well away from land.

–A disturbance near Puerto Rico brought heavy rain and the downpours were spreading to the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

–Two tropical waves were located over the extreme eastern Atlantic, closer to Africa. Both could grow stronger.

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