Tracking heavy rainfall across Southwest Florida; flood advisories and watches active

The Weather Authority is tracking heavy rainfall throughout the work week; however, the highest amount of rain is expected on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for Collier County due to the excessive rain until 5 p.m. and a Flood Watch for Lee and Charlotte counties until 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

The map shown below shows the areas affected by the Flood Watch.

The National Weather Service is issuing the Flood Watch because of excessive rainfall impacting the area.

The heavy rainfall could lead too excessive runoff which in turn could cause rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying areas to flood.

Weather Authority Meteorologist Zach Maloch said, “Four to eight inches of rain is expected to fall this Tuesday. The storms’ slower movement may lead to flooding in areas prone to it.”

In addition to the rainfall, wind speeds are expected to pick up to 10 to 20 mph, with gusts up to 35 mph.

While Tuesday is expected to bear the most rainfall this week, the total rainfall forecasted for the remainder of the week is about 7 to 12 inches, with isolated spots possibly seeing upwards of 12 to 20 inches by Saturday.

Pulsing heavy rain and storms across Southwest Florida will continue throughout Tuesday.

Because of the rain and greater cloud cover, highs fall below average in the mid-80s.

A flood watch is active for Glades, Hendry, and Collier County until Wednesday evening; however, Southwest Florida, especially urban areas, will likely experience some flooding.

Wednesday will be the second wettest day of the week with very similar conditions to Tuesday. 

Highs will only reach the mid-and upper 80s.

Scattered storms and mostly cloudy skies are expected to continue across Southwest Florida, and highs remain below average in the mid and upper 80s.

As WINK News tracks the rainfall, we’ll monitor spots in the Southwest Florida area.

In Fort Myers, the rainfall has created some concerns as the Caloosahatchee Bridge has been closed due to the pedestrian crosswalk project conducted by the Florida Department of Transportation.

However, work was seen continuing.

Traffic is expected to increase due to the rainfall, so motorists are advised to leave earlier for their morning commutes to adjust for the increased road time.

In Cape Coral, many areas are prone to flooding as the morning rainfall has already caused some ponding on the roadways.

Motorists must be cautious while traversing the roadways. It is advised not to drive through flooded spots, as this can damage your vehicle.

The heavy rainfall has created mayhem for LCEC customers, as outages were reported.

Flight delays have been reported due to the weather.

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