United States (Florida) - Meteorologists scrambled Friday to get a handle on a punishing storm that caught most of South Florida by surprise including the weather forecasters. Severe thunderstorms barreled across South Florida most of the day, adding a possible one to two inches on top of some areas that reaped more than 14 inches of rain Thursday night, said Rusty Pfost of the National Weather Service.

"It was very strange," Pfost said of the storm, which hovered over the coast most of the evening, pounding Southeast Broward and North Miami-Dade east of U.S. 441.

"The amount of rain we had in some areas was just incredible," Pfost said. In North Miami Beach, 14.2 inches of rain fell, and over a foot of rain swept through Hollywood, he said.

Yet, to the west, very little, if any, rain accumulated.

Pfost, who lives in Cooper City, said the city had just over one inch of rain, while five miles to the east, it was a different story in Hollywood and Dania Beach.

"It's a busy day," Pfost said. "We have much more rain to go, but the cells are moving very fast. . . . We do expect everything to be over by late afternoon."

Meteorologists were closely watching a band of storms rotating in far South Miami-Dade, where the conditions were ripe for tornadoes.

There was an unconfirmed report of a small tornado near Northeast 163rd Street and Biscayne Boulevard about 11 a.m. Friday. Witnesses said winds propelled a flower vendor -- along with her large cart -- across a gas station parking lot. The flower cart had been bolted to a concrete sidewalk.

The woman, known as Maria Elena Sanchez, 42, "the flower lady," was tossed 80 feet and was transported to Aventura Hospital.

Pfost admitted that forecasters did not anticipate the severity of the storm.

"Maybe 10 years down the line, we'll have the technology. But right now, the more localized the event, the harder it is to predict," he said.

In hard-hit areas, public works and rescue crews were out in near-hurricane strength at the crack of dawn, combatting waves of rushing water. Police cruisers and rescue vehicles also got stuck in several areas.

One of the worst areas was Hollywood Lakes, where many residents were unable to leave their homes. City officials opened their emergency operations center Thursday evening and warned all residents to remain indoors.

"All storm water pumps in the city are operational," Hollywood Mayor Peter Bober said. "All portable pumps are out in more serious areas in order to move storm water."

But it will take time for the water to recede, Bober said. The city is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar upgrade to its aging water and sewer system -- but that won't stop floods in heavy rains.

"When you have torrential rain that brings a foot of rain in an hour, there are only so many man-made things you can do," Bober said. "You can try your best to deal with Mother Nature's deluge."

Residents of Hollywood Lakes, which is between the Intracoastal and U.S. 1, said even though they're used to flooding, they have not seen these depths in more than 25 years. In some areas, the water was waist high.

Large plastic wise men and other nativity scene figurines bobbed in the water on Buchanan Street, while holiday decorations on both sides of Hollywood Boulevard drooped with water.

"It's just pure nasty out there," said John Hagadorn, who lives on Fletcher Street.

"I maybe got an hour of sleep," said Hagadorn, who did everything from rescuing feral cats stuck in trees to letting a neighbor spend the night after her car died near his home.

Hollywood had Wave Runners and boats on standby, and many secondary streets were barricaded. It was tough going, especially after a fire engine became disabled while responding to a flood call overnight.

And if that wasn't enough, the Hollywood City Hall annex and the police department headquarters were leaking, city officials said.

The rain subsided somewhat for Friday's morning rush hour, but was still slow going, and for some unlucky travelers, impossible.

Therese Costa found herself stranded in downtown Hollywood overnight, with no way to get home Friday morning. Her car was surrounded by water and the streets leading to her home in Hollywood Lakes were impassable. So she walked to the Publix on Young Circle, bought a pair of flip-flops and a hat, and started to walk the seven-block trek home.

"There's no other way to get home right now," she said.

Aventura police Capt. William "Skip" Washa Jr. said about 50 stranded cars were towed and the city tripled the number of officers on the street Friday.

Upon arriving at work at 5 a.m., he said: "I felt like I was in the hurricane zone again."

He predicted holiday shoppers would not be deterred from their mission.

"People are going to shop," he said. "It's the weekend before Christmas; they're not going to stay home."

As shoppers descended upon the Aventura Mall, however, firefighters in boats evacuated a flooded mobile home park in Pembroke Park early Friday morning.

The flood-prone County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale and the satellite courthouse in Hollywood were both leaking. Engineers were assessing the damage -- which did not interrupt court operations and appeared to have mostly hit chambers and offices.

"We have leaks all over this place," court administrator Carol Ortman said, referring to the main courthouse. "At least 10 that they know of -- and they didn't know my office was leaking too."

Florida Power & Light reported only a few scattered weather related outages as of Friday morning, according to spokeswoman Jackie Anderson. The number of customers without power: 450 in Broward and 275 in Miami-Dade.

The storm began to bore down on South Florida late Thursday afternoon. And, by the end of what would normally be the evening rush hour, motorists found themselves still a long way from home as their vehicles gingerly crawled through rushing water or worse -- found themselves stalled and stuck.

In Aventura, authorities reported that several cars were left in the roadway and in parking lots, and that more than 50 cars had to be towed from streets due to the widespread flooding.

More than seven inches of rain fell overnight at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the National Weather Service said. Six flights had to be diverted late Thursday night into Palm Beach due to the severe weather.

On Friday morning, a light drizzle fell and a handful of flights were delayed. The airport anticipates additional delays throughout the day and recommended passengers check with the airlines.

"The best thing to do right now is to be very careful," said Mark Steele, Hollywood Fire-Rescue division chief.

On Friday night, there's still a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. It will remain mostly cloudy, with a low around 65. And wind gusts could still be as high as 30 mph.

The Broward County Emergency Operations Center remains at a Level 3 (monitoring) status. Emergency management officials are asking residents to:

Stay off the roadways if possible.

Do not drive your vehicle into areas where water covers the roadway, as it may obscure deeper water, canals or ponds.

Keep your television and radio tuned to a local station for information and advice.

The weather system that is causing these extreme conditions is expected to remain in the area until 7 p.m. Friday. It will be followed by a cold front that is expected to bring temperatures in the low 40s Sunday and Monday nights.

As a result of this forecast, Broward County has declared a cold weather emergency for homeless residents from 6:30 p.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. Monday, and from 6:30 p.m. Monday to 8 a.m. Tuesday.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact the Broward County Call Center at 3-1-1.

Homeless persons are advised to report to the following locations, no later than 6:30 p.m. for transportation to special cold night shelters:

City of Pompano Beach, Pompano Beach City Hall, 100 W. Atlantic Blvd. (Southeast Corner)

City of Fort Lauderdale, The Salvation Army, 1445 W. Broward Blvd.

City of Hollywood, Broward Outreach Center, 2056 Scott St.

Miami Herald staff writers Amy Sherman, Diana Moskovitz, Tim Chapman and Jared Goyette contributed to this story.

Written and photos by The Miami Herald