Stormy Sunday turned serious for parts of Broward County after the National Weather Service in Miami issued a special weather statement warning of brief bursts of pea-sized hail and gusty winds near 50 mph. The afternoon advisory flagged the potential to down small limbs, toss unsecured objects and trigger short power hiccups, and specifically called out communities from Parkland and Coral Springs south through Tamarac, Sunrise and Plantation. The statement was set to expire at 4:45 p.m. EDT.
NWS Miami pushed the alert on X, noting it would remain in effect until 4:45 p.m. and urging residents to "seek shelter in a sturdy structure" while the stronger cells pass. The post doubled as the office's on-the-record notice as radar showed a line of strong thunderstorms marching across northern Broward.
Where The Storm Could Hit Hardest
Local alert feeds and radar snapshots showed the most intense storm cores sliding through northern and central Broward Sunday afternoon, with The Weather Channel listing the same towns under the gun and warning of gusts up to roughly 50 to 55 mph in the strongest cells. That kind of wind can snap small branches and send unsecured patio furniture airborne, while radar-indicated hail pockets lined up with the "pea-sized" description from forecasters.
Heat, Heavy Rain And Flash-Flood Risk
CBS Miami points to the hot, humid pattern feeding Sunday's storms, with forecast models showing storm chances climbing into the late afternoon and a marginal risk for excessive rainfall. That setup brings the potential for localized street flooding where slow-moving cells stall and unload heavy downpours.
How To Stay Safe
Broward County Emergency Management is reminding residents to sign up for local alerts, move vehicles away from trees and avoid driving through flooded roadways. If the power cuts out, officials say to treat any downed lines as live and report outages to your utility, and advise people with special medical needs to review the county's shelter and registration pages for available options.
Residents are urged to keep phones and radios tuned to live radar and updates from NWS Miami until the statement expires at 4:45 p.m. This story will be updated if the NWS upgrades the advisory to a warning or if county officials issue additional notices.
