Heavy rains trigger flood advisory for much of Palm Beach County, as cold front approaches

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. -- Heavy rain showers are causing roads around the eastern portions of Palm Beach County to flood and wreaking havoc on lunchtime drive plans.

Even as rainfall begins to break up, roads from downtown West Palm Beach to Dixie Highway in Boca Raton remain a driving nightmare as from one to 4 inches of rain has fallen on some areas since the early morning hours.

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For example, nearly an inch of rain fell in just one hour around West Palm Beach, according to meteorologists at the National Weather Center in Miami.

And since midnight 1.20 inches of rain have fallen at Palm Beach International Airport.

A flood advisory - due to expire at 12:45 p.m. - has been issued for the east central part of the county, including the city of West Palm Beach.

But there is already flash flooding throughout the West Palm Beach area, where storm drains cannot handle the downpour.

Downtown streets near Dixie Highway and Olive Avenue are experiencing "temporary roadway flooding," according to a statement released by city clerk Joanna Sharp.

Traffic was backed up downtown as cars were driving 10 miles per hours, slowing up for large puddles. On Dixie Highway, just south of Clematis Street, two women took their shoes off and walked barefoot on with rain filing the streets and creeping up to the sidewalks.

Driving in a low vehicle on Belvedere Road, between Georgia Avenue and Dixie Highway may prove difficult for motorists, where the water is reaching up to the doors of certain vehicles. At least two cars had stalled: one in the eastbound lanes of Belvedere Road, west of the southbound Interstate 95 entrance ramp, and one in the westbound lanes of Belvedere Road, east of Georgia Avenue.

There is also what meteorologists are describing as "normal isolated area flooding" throughout the county.

The rain, the result of a weak area of low pressure coming up from the Keys, is excepted to continue throughout the day and into tonight. Temperatures are due to reach a high near 78 degrees.

"The big story is once this clears, there is a very strong cold front coming down tonight from the central southwest," said weather service meteorologist Barry Baxter.

The cold front will drop the rain chances to 20 or 30 percent and bring high temperatures into the mid-70s. Saturday night temperatures are expected to plummet.

The coldest spots Saturday night and into Sunday morning will be west of Lake Okeechobee, where forecasters say it could cool to the upper 20s and lower 30s in Glades and Hendry counties. On our side of the lake some spots could hit the mid-40s. The east coast metro areas will see temperatures in the low 50s, forecasters report.

The clouds stick around, but rain chances remain low through the weekend and into early next week. Afternoon high temperatures Sunday and Monday aren't expected to break out of the 60s.

Staff reporters Cynthia Roldan and Andrew Abramson contributed to this story.