Slow-moving storm dumps as much rain as a hurricane in parts of Central Florida

Intense rains that stalled over Central Florida unleashed nearly 20 inches (508 millimeters) 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 dropped on parts of Florida east and north of Orlando was comparable to what the 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, Florida.

Parts of Eustis in Lake County were inundated with 19.7 inches of rain, while Port Saint John, west of the Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County, 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.

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 two to three 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.