Florida

Storm cleanup underway as South Florida prepares for another round of severe weather:

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From Sunday through Monday, South Florida is under a NEXT Weather Alert because of showers and storms moving throughout the region both afternoons.

Numerous severe thunderstorms were reported between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, before the skies began to quiet down for the rest of the night. However, storms are expected to develop again by midday Monday.

Storm impact in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties

In one video obtained by CBS News Miami, rain is shown falling hard on Sunday afternoon on Florida’s Turnpike near Kendall and Sunset Drive, while another video shows rain turning a parking lot of a Pompano Beach strip mall into a pond.

Sunday’s rain slowed down big events across South Florida, such as the Miami Grand Prix’s all-female F1 Academy racing series. The U.S. Navy Blue Angels had to shorten their demonstration at the Fort Lauderdale Air Show as well because of the inclement weather.

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The University of Miami had to cancel Sunday’s series finale against North Carolina State due to the weather and campus police issued an emergency message to students and staff about seeking shelter during Sunday’s severe thunderstorms.

Miami Beach city officials urged its residents to report any flooding in their neighborhoods by calling the MB Control Room at (305) 673-7625 or by sending photos to flooding@miamibeachfl.gov. Additionally, Miami Beach said its residents can park in the municipal parking garages from 2 p.m. Sunday until 9 a.m. Monday and will not be charged with proof of residency.

Large trees uprooted by strong winds in South Miami neighborhood

Across South Florida, some people saw damage from Sunday’s storms.

In South Miami, a large tree fell down on a traffic circle near Southwest 74th Street and 63rd Avenue (Manor Lane), temporarily closing the roads for all vehicular traffic. 

Crews had been out the for several hours, chopping down the tree. Sunday’s winds were so strong that they uprooted it.

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Jorge Padial, who lived nearby where the tree fell, told CBS News Miami that it had been there for nearly 100 years.

“I’m surprised because we never expected this,” he said.

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The massive tree uprooted and toppled over, knocking down power lines and blocking the road for parts of Sunday afternoon.

“We had massive storms [Sunday],” said Ron Von-Paulus of Big Ron Tree Service. “The flooding — have you ever stood on the beach and the waves wash your feet and you watch for a second, there the sand is no longer solid, it’s liquid? And we had so much flooding here that it happened to a massive tree. The roots 40 to 50 mile-per-hour gusts just blew the tree over.”

Florida Power & Light crews worked with heavy equipment to chop down the huge branches caught in Mother Nature’s wrath.

Just a few blocks away, a similar situation unfolded. Keyvon Antonio Heydari was home when the storm hit around 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

“I go outside, and I start to film, and I see hail, and] I see the tree went down,” he told CBS News Miami. “I see kind of like an abnormal storm, you know, and then there were winds.”

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Winds were so strong that it yanked another tree from its roots near Southwest 72nd Street and 75th Avenue.

Jeanette Perez told CBS News Miami she was getting home just minutes after it happened.

“I saw the street completely blocked, so I had to continue going around,” Perez said. “Obviously, I saw the tree blocking the street, and when you drove in and you saw this. 

When CBS News Miami asked for her reaction, Perez said: “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what are we gonna do?’ It looked like a hurricane.”

Other neighbors, walking out after the storm, described what they heard and saw on Sunday.

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“The wind went sideways, and it was just the darkness, [the] skies, all hell broke loose,” said resident Teresita DeBlank. “And the lightning was beyond description. My poor dog didn’t know where to hide.”

“Oh my God, well, like something happened, something went down, and the electricity went down, and then you walk outside and you see this,” added Isolina Alonso, another resident. “Yeah, it’s incredible. It’s a first for me to see something like this in my street.”

Close to a dozen FPL crews arrived to the scene and secured the downed power lines tangled up in the trees.

Officials told CBS News Miami that they plan to reopen the roads by midnight Monday. Meanwhile, they’re asking residents who have large trees to trim them before hurricane season begins.

One of the homeowners was also told by city officials that she has to check with her insurance and the City of South Miami because the tree was on her property.

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