Hurricane Sandy Effects Still Felt in South Florida

Airport departures cancelled, flooding continues in Miami-Dade and Broward

Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy made landfall along the southern New Jersey coast Monday night, but its effects continue to be felt in South Florida.

"It's allowing the drier and cooler weather north of us to pulled from the north into South Florida," National Weather Service meteorologist Barry Baxter said earlier in the day of the storm, which was then a hurrricane.

Baxter added a side effect of Sandy was cooler than average temperatures.

"It's going to get into the lower to mid-50s tomorrow morning," he said, adding that the record is 46 degrees in 1938.  "Tonight is going to be the coldest night and then we will have a gradual warm-up the rest of the week."

A total of 54 arrivals and 63 departures at Miami International Airport were cancelled. All of the flights were for cities in the northeast including New York, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark and Washington, D.C.

At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, 152 flights had been cancelled. A total of 69 were arrivals and 83 were departures. At 3 p.m., 35 commercial airplanes were waiting out the storm in the county.  The impacted cities include: Albany, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Boston, Freeport, Bahamas, Hartford, Islip, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, Providence, Washington, D.C., and White Plains.

"What we're finding is that a lot of them are connecting flights. So, they made sure that when they left wherever they left, they were going to get a connection to the Northeast, but then God stepped in and said 'You're not going anywhere," said travel agent Rina Vega. "So now they're stranded here in Miami with no reservations, no hotels, no food. Some of them have no money.'

Honeymooners Courtney and Kyle Knichel, from Washington, D.C., said they will fly to Raleigh and then attempt to drive home.

"We were on our honeymoon in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Sandy was there, I think Tuesday and Wednesday last week. So, we've already seen Sandy," Courtney Knichel said. "And now we're stranded here in the airport, all flights to D.C. are cancelled."

But Sandy hasn't just ruined plans in the air, the storm stopped travel on some roads too.

East Coast Grinds to a Halt for Sandy

Sandy's windy weather forced road closures in Fort Lauderdale. A1A between Sunrise Boulevard and Northeast 20th Street was impassable. Crews attempted to remove that flooding late into the night.

According to the Red Cross, residents of about 60 homes in Fort Lauderdale were locked in due to street flooding and beach erosion from Sandy. The American Red Cross South Florida Region was providing sandwiches, snacks and water to the residents Sunday.

Anticipating more flooding overnight, the City of Fort Lauderdale decided to restrict access to East Las Olas Boulevard at Coral Way too.

Officials warned the effects of rising waters are expected to be seen between 6:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Monday with the peak of high tide at 8:55 a.m.

The windy weather didn't stop spectators from coming out to watch an eerily beautiful scene during high tide Sunday. As the wind howled, the water inched closer to the sea wall.

"It's very unusual because of the waves, but it's really beautiful," said Cassidy Ritchie, admiring the water.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue to Join FEMA for Sandy

Drivers had a tough time of it on South Beach, too. With a Coastal Flood Advisory issued for both Miami-Dade and Broward counties, until Monday morning, the city of Miami Beach warned residents to give themselves plenty of time for their commutes.

"We're supposed to go to Philadelphia," said Kristina Menudo who had just been told her flight was canceled. She is stranded in Miami with her sister and daughter for the next few days.

"I have to call work. I have to let them that I won't be in Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday because I was expecting to come home," said Tiffany Menudo.

As of 11 p.m. Monday, Sandy had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph as it moved northwest at 18 mph about 10 miles southwest of Philadelphia, the National Hurricane Center said.

Hurricane-force wind gusts were possible along parts of the East Coast between Chincoteague, Virginia and Chatham, Massachusetts over the next few hours, the National Hurricane Center said in its last public advisory on the storm.

Tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 485 miles from the center of the storm.

Sandy was expected to head to the west-northwest or northwest through Tuesday before it turned toward the north and northeast Tuesday night.

Travelers heading to the Northeast should check with their airline to find out if their flights are affected.

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