Fort Lauderdale airport and schools closed due to 20 inches of rain in some areas

A sudden flash flooding event in southern Florida brought up to 20 inches of rainfall and closed down the Fort Lauderdale airport and Broward County Public Schools Wednesday.

On social media, people posted videos of their homes being flooded amid flashes of thunder, water rushing in the door at an airport terminal and water nearly level with the hoods of cars on the street.

At about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Fort Lauderdale airport tweeted that it would be closed until at least noon Thursday.

"The airport's roadways are still closed and impacted by flooding," it said. "While stalled vehicles are being removed from the upper/lower levels, the main exit artery remains flooded & congested with slow-moving traffic."

Shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday, the departures roadway had reopened to allow people to reunite with family and friends waiting outside the airport. The arrivals roadway remained closed.

Broward County Public Schools said schools and district offices would be closed Thursday, and all extracurricular activities would be canceled.

About 5 to 10 miles southeast of Fort Lauderdale, rain fell at a rate of about 2 to 3.5 inches an hour. Another 1 to 2 inches of rain is possible in Fort Lauderdale, the National Weather Service said.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.