A tropical rainstorm coming to Florida could dump a foot of rain

A tropical rainstorm is brewing in the Gulf of Mexico and is set to deluge Florida with up to a foot of rain. The long-duration storm will last from Saturday night through Thursday, and could lead to flooding, particularly in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas.

There’s also a chance it evolves into something more significant and becomes a tropical storm or hurricane. It’s a tricky setup that weather models are struggling to get a handle on, but meteorologists are wary.

A broad 4 to 8 inches of rain, with localized totals of 12 inches, appears likely for much of the southern and central Florida Peninsula. Much less will fall in northern zones, potentially sparing the areas hit by Helene from any worse impacts.