August is off to a very active start. On Tuesday, prolonged rain and strong storms stirred up a lot of trouble. Over the span of several hours, Miami-Dade County received wave after wave of rain. Some of the hardest hit areas were along Miami Beach where more than 7 inches fell…. on the Biscayne Bay side of the beach near Alton Road. Then extending back to downtown Miami and southward, pools of standing water formed prior to the evening rush. The overwhelming water caused flash flooding over a large area and many people had to abandon their vehicles along roadways (which became pools). As we start Wednesday, the radar is a lot less active. The next best rain chance will develop into Wednesday afternoon with at least a few scattered downpours. The wet weather is from lingering tropical moisture and a boundary that was once an old front. Additionally, there’s instability from departing Emily in the Atlantic (the former tropical storm that crossed central Florida on Monday). Finally, low pressure is also spinning (a non-tropical low) in the Gulf of Mexico. That, too, is sending a few areas of rain into an already soggy state. The deep moisture is expected to finally dwindle into Thursday as high pressure arrives with drier air. It will also feel much hotter. Forecast highs, on Thursday, should get into the middle 90’s with possible records. Finally, we’ll be watching for the potential of some Saharan Dust moving in, on Friday. There’s a decent chance that a batch arrives from the southeast providing us with a layer of haze. Those of you sensitive to dust particles or with breathing issues may want to avoid spending a lot of time outdoors… from Friday into early Saturday.