Record Rains
By: amcintosh@sbgnet.com
As rolling thunder rumbles, downpours once again hit the Gulf Coast.
By noon, the all-time rain record is broken in the Pensacola area.
Not just for April, the 20-plus inches in the last 30 days is now the highest rain total of any month in recorded history.
Downtown, sheets of water stream off awnings.
The annual Kid's Fishing Clinic, which draws hundreds every year, is cancelled, along with a ton of other weekend events.
John Babb/Kent's Special Events: "Several of our event sites are underwater, literally shin deep. There's just incredible amounts of water that have puddled up with no where to go."
At the civic center, the storm puts a damper on the commencement for University of West Florida graduates and their families.
Rain leaks into the building during the ceremony, and has people running for their cars after it.
Diane Burt, a proud, but soaked parent is sick of the storms.
Diane Burt/Soaked By Rains: "We're gonna start building arks I think. I think we need that."
People in this neighborhood have been plagued by a holding pond that has constanltly overflowed in the last four weeks.
Andrew McIntosh/Reporting: "This is the third time the Greenbriar subdivision in Santa Rosa County has Flooded in the month of April. Residents feel like they just can't get a break."
Clint Cook/Greenbriar Resident: "Everytime it rains a little bit, it's just flooded back up. It's frustrating when you get out of your doorstep and you step in water."
A stranded Clint Cook and his family hope the April showers don't continue into May.
Some residents say they won't be surprised if next month brings more miserable weather.
Babb: "Living in Pensacola, Florida, you never know, could be a hurricane, could be 23 inches of rain in April, go figure."
