Palm Beach County is experiencing heavy flooding, power outages, traffic jams, school closures, and just an overall feeling of soggy despair after receiving biblical amounts of rainfall Thursday and Friday morning.
According to the National Weather Service, between 13 and 18 inches fell in some western regions of Delray Beach.
Schools closed in both Palm Beach and St. Lucie County due to flooding and unsafe road conditions. A flood warning for Palm Beach County has been extended to 4:15 p.m. Friday. Martin County Fire Rescue officials say a possible tornado ripped through Hobe Sound, damaging 30 homes. However no injuries were reported.
Two New Times contributors found themselves stranded by the floods.
Tana Velen was stranded in her car on the Gateway Boulevard on-ramp of I-95 from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. with nothing but her phone and a full bladder.
It gets better.
But we can't forget all the emergency workers who busted their behinds to help people out of this soggy dilemma.
"I was actually the car closest to merging on 95 but when I saw a van with water nearly up to its windows that had been abandoned not too far ahead of me, I knew I couldn't make it so I pulled to the side," Tana remembers.
After being turned around by firemen, Tana tried heading west to avoid the storm, but got trapped again at the intersection of Renaissance Commons and Gateway Boulevard.
"I kept waking up expecting the rain to be finished, but it was still going at 4 a.m. When I woke again at 7 a.m. the police had blocked off the street and I was able to get out of the bank. I asked the officer how I should get home and he was like 'You can try Federal,' which is what I took to Atlantic then hopped on the highway."
This picture was taken outside the home of New Times writer, Doug Fairall, in Boynton Beach.
For now, Palm Beach residents are doing their best to stay off the road. And we can't blame them.
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