'We can't go home': Tallahassee swamped by torrential rains; 'overwhelming' ordeal ahead

A slow moving but powerful storm system dumped more than 10 inches of rain on parts of Tallahassee area, flooding roadways, vehicles, homes, schools and businesses and prompting rescues of stranded people in the middle of the night.

Two Florida Highway Patrol troopers suffered minor injuries after one of their patrol vehicles flipped over in standing water on Geddie Road. One of the troopers was “entrapped within the vehicle,” FHP said, but was pulled out by the other trooper. There were no other immediate reports of injuries.

The Leon County Sheriff’s Office and the Tallahassee Fire Department rescued several people by boat from their flooded mobile homes on Southern Bell Loop and Emily Loop, located off West Tennessee Street near the Munson Slough.

The Sheriff’s Office said it rescued others from swamped vehicles on Meridian Road and Trimble Road and that the Tallahassee Police Department took part in several rescues elsewhere.

“LCSO and other local first responders are rescuing residents impacted by waters this morning,” the Sheriff’s Office said early Thursday.

One of the storm’s biggest casualties was Godby High School, where all but three buildings endured significant flooding. Other schools suffered minor flooding, Superintendent Rocky Hanna told the Democrat in an interview.

"Right now the campus is not occupiable," Hanna said. "I started my career at Godby 36 years ago and I've never seen anything like this. We have an inch of standing water in a large number of classrooms."

Flood waters also hit the Florida State University and West Tennessee Street area, prompting one reported rescue near Bullwinkle’s. The university, which delayed classes until 11 a.m., said it was “assessing the effects of the storm”

Video footage circulated on social media showing cars underwater in the parking lot at FSU's Leach Student Recreation Center.

The prolonged downpour flooded homes on Ridge Road in south Tallahassee, washed out Sir Richard Road off Highway 20 in the Fort Braden area and caused a wooden barrier holding back vegetation along Tennessee Street to collapse into the road.

At Best Buy on Apalachee Parkway, the store closed for the day because of a flooded floor inside. At the Circle K at Capital Circle Northeast and Centerville Road was down after it was hit by floodwaters.

City and county crews spent the morning in mop-up mode. A little after noon, the city tweeted that the water was receding in many areas “and reports of businesses and residences being impacted are coming in.”

Leon County Emergency Management Director Kevin Peters said the Florida Division of Emergency Management asked counties affected by the storm to conduct damage assessments and report back. He said the county was working with partner agencies to help in assessments and building inspections. Residents can report property damage on the Emergency Management website.

“We’ll be coordinating with (partner agencies) on doing some of the site surveys so we can collect data that we can give to the state,” Peters said. From there, he said the state will decide whether any emergency declarations or request for federal assistance will be made.

Weather Service: Parts of Leon County got up to a foot of rain

The Weather Service initially said more than 14 inches of rain fell at Lake Iamonia. Later Wednesday, it said that report was likely erroneous after consulting with hydrologists and the Northwest Water Management District.

Joe Worster, meteorologist with the Weather Service in Tallahassee, said eastern Leon County saw between 10 inches and a foot of rain, with 10.49 inches recorded at Piney Z Lake. The official amount at Tallahassee International Airport was half that at 7.11 inches.

Worster said two rounds of storms hit Tallahassee, one that arrived earlier than expected on Wednesday and another Thursday. The convection was further south than forecast, which allowed the system to train over the area for hours as it slowed down and fed off abundant Gulf moisture.

“Not only with the training, we had just a lot of moisture in the atmosphere, which allowed pretty intense rainfall rates to follow these storms,” Worster said. “So it was just kind of like a perfect storm for this kind of scenario.”

The storm knocked down trees across the town, and the Sheriff’s Office warned that more could fall because of the torrential rain and soggy ground. The Weather Service issued at least one tornado warning, for Taylor County and parts east, early Thursday. But Worster said there were no confirmed tornadoes.

The Weather Service warned at 3:40 a.m. in a post on X/Twitter that “a significant flooding event” was unfolding across Leon and several other counties.

“If possible, do not go outside!” the Weather Service said while declaring a Flash Flood Emergency. “There are currently multiple water rescues ongoing.”

Godby High School swamped by storm

In preparation for the storm, Leon County Schools delayed all class start times by an hour— but for Godby, the delay may be indefinite.

Teachers and administrators who arrived to work Thursday morning were met by excessive flood waters, leaving some classrooms with several inches of water.

“This has been my classroom for 11 years,” a Godby teacher said. “I cried a little when I saw it.”

Godby Assistant Principal Jenn Powell said she had no idea when the school will reopen. The main focus was excavation and drying out the classrooms to make sure they are safe for the staff and students, Powell said.

Workers from the school district were working diligently to mop up and mitigate flood waters inside and outside of the school while teachers worked to remove classroom and office items that were ruined by the water.

“It’s really overwhelming,” she said. “The last thing a school administrator wants to do is to have to turn kids and teachers away.”

Floodwaters hit Ridge Road, surrounding homes and totaling cars

Percillia Hatten woke up at 4 a.m. to whipping winds and torrential rains wreaking havoc on her home nestled on Ridge Road.

Water rushed from the street into her yard, and before long, Hatten’s elevated home was surrounded. Because her house was raised high above the ground, nothing inside was damaged, but her cars were totaled and many of her belongings stored under the house will have to be thrown out.

“I just didn’t know what to do,” she shouted from her front porch where she stood surrounded by the floodwater, the worst she’d seen there.

Hatten said she planned to stay put for the time being and wait for the water to recede. But she said if she has to, she’ll throw her good clothes in a bag and walk through it.

Boat rescues on Southern Bell and Emily loops: 'We can't go home'

Sidericca Maynor and Vondoria Whaley said they woke up Thursday morning to find their home on Southern Bell Loop surrounded by water.

Other homes on the street and nearby Emily Loop, located off West Tennessee Street near the Munson Slough, were also underwater.

Two ponds in the area overflowed into the neighborhood, trapping numerous residents inside their mobile homes. The Sheriff’s Office spent roughly two hours rescuing as many as 13 people with a boat, – Maynor and Whaley included.

With water completely blocking the entrance to their home, Maynor said she might have to book a hotel room down the road for the night if the water hasn’t gone down.

“We can’t go home,” Maynor said.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee floods: Homes, vehicles, school swamped after water rescues