Heavy rain turned early Sunday morning into a washout across parts of Cape Coral, disrupting plans for local residents and businesses. WINK News was on the scene to capture the impact of the downpour.
Tim Crout, a WINK Weather Watcher in Cape Coral, had his fishing plans thwarted by the relentless rain.
"I got up this morning, and I was going to run down to Matlacha Bridge and try to get some sunrise photos. But once I got out, you know, that was a bust," said Crout.
Instead of catching fish, Crout found himself navigating through inches of floodwaters.
"As you were going down Pine Island towards Stringfellow, the rain, you know, just started getting heavier. But just when I turned on the Stringfellow, that's when the flooding started. So, a lot of the flooding was on Stringfellow. And then I turned onto Sanibel Road. And that's where the heaviest flooding was," said Crout.
"I was probably going through 10, 11 inches of flooding," he added.
Flooding in St. James City.
The non-stop rain affected areas like Matlacha, St. James City, and neighboring islands. Michael Miller, managing partner of The Green Flash on Captiva, shared his concerns during the storm.
"I looked out at like 4 in the morning, and it was just water everywhere. Lightning, thunder. It was, you know, our house was shaking. It was crazy. It was really coming down hard. And I was concerned," said Miller.
"Twelve inches of rain in Sanibel. Oh my God, that's a lot of rain. And so I was, again, my first concern was the restaurant's gonna be flooded," he added.
Fortunately, The Green Flash only experienced minor flooding in its parking lot.
"We have cameras in the restaurant. So, I'm looking at the cameras trying to see if there was any big flooding. It wasn't major," Miller said.
"We're open. We're here. And again, what's there to do when it's a rainy day? Drink and eat," he concluded.
Street flooding in Collier County on Marco Island.
The community continues to recover from the heavy rains, with residents and businesses adapting to the unexpected weather conditions.