Election Day Rain Is Likely in Palm Beach County: 60% to 70% Shower Chances on Tuesday, but Not Another Flooding Rain
The National Weather Service expects on-and-off showers through Election Day and into the early evening, with highs in the lower 80s - a wet walk to the polls, then a drying week behind it.
Palm Beach County voters should take an umbrella on Tuesday. Rain chances on Election Day, Nov. 3, run between 60 percent and 70 percent in Palm Beach County, according to Chris Fisher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, with showers expected throughout the day and into the early evening, the Palm Beach Post reported. It is not, forecasters stress, a repeat of the weekend deluge: 'We're not expecting the flooding rains like what we've seen,' Fisher said. 'It will just kind of be like some quick moving showers off and on throughout the day.' Highs on Tuesday sit in the lower 80s, jumping to the mid-80s for the rest of the week until Friday, Nov. 6.
The ground voters will cross is still saturated. A stalled frontal boundary pumping rich tropical moisture into South Florida brought the weekend's showers and thunderstorms, and rainfall topped more than 15 inches in Riviera Beach in the 24 hours that ended at 8 a.m. Monday, according to the Weather Service, leaving considerable street flooding especially in Palm Beach Gardens and West Palm Beach. South Florida remains under a flood watch through Monday night, with an additional 1 to 3 inches of rain expected, up to 5 inches in some spots and 'very isolated peak amounts' up to 9 inches; heavy rain may result in street flooding, road closures and limited impacts to structures in flood-prone areas, the Weather Service said. The station's live feed read 73.6 degrees with rain showers at staging time Monday afternoon.
The pattern breaks right behind the election. The upper-level support for the stalled boundary is expected to go away and conditions improve later in the week: rain chances fall to about 40 to 50 percent on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and plunge to about 10 percent on Thursday, Nov. 5, and Friday, Nov. 6. 'We'll still be dealing with showers tomorrow, although it won't be nearly as bad,' Fisher said on Monday. 'And then as the week continues, we continue to slowly dry out through the rest of the work week.' Polls are open Tuesday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
