Coastal Flood — Mainland Monroe, Florida

2023-12-17 · Mainland Monroe, Florida

Event narrative

The National Park Service reported coastal flooding that inundated the campgrounds, housing area, and maintenance areas around Flamingo. Eleven vehicles had water intrusion and one required a tow truck. Four trailer pads closest to the shoreline had the concession resident trailers damaged, including one RV with heavy damage. Time is estimated based on report time and high tide.

Wider weather episode

Enhanced pressure gradients between a surface high and stalled frontal boundary produced strong and gusty northeasterly winds across much of South Florida beginning on December 13th, with winds eventually turning southerly and peaking on December 16th and 17th when gale force winds occurred over the local waters. Bands of showers moved across the region on the 16th and early on the 17th, producing wind gusts up to 50-60 mph over the waters. Due to the prolonged period of gusty gradient winds and convective gusts, it led to a spike in high tides, which created coastal flooding in Palm Beach (Dec 16) and Flamingo (Dec 17) during the local high tides.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1153373. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.