Overnight rains leave flooding; hint at cooler weather

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Early morning rains left parts of the Bay Area underwater, but they should also usher in the first hint of fall.

The storms began not long after midnight ahead of a dying cold front.  The downpours lingered over some areas of Hillsborough County for a few hours, leading to street flooding in low-lying South Tampa. 

Many of the usual locations flooded before sunrise, stranding a few drivers and forcing police to close roads.  Several vehicles were apparently abandoned in floodwaters along West Swann Avenue.

Most of the rain had tapered off by rush hour, but flooding remained a problem in some neighborhoods for morning commuters.

“This is all in response to a cold front,” FOX 13 meteorologist Dave Osterberg explained.  “A cold front is sliding ever so slowly and weakening, kind of falling apart as it comes through the area.”

Drier air may settle in over the next few days, Osterberg said, but the front won’t be strong enough to bring much cooler temperatures all the way down to Central Florida.  Real cooler weather is still a week away.

“It looks like maybe next week we get our first decent fall cold front,” he added.

LINK: Watch the latest Bay Area weathercast