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Gordon Puts Damper On Holiday Plans In Miami Beach

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Labor Day wrapped up on South Beach nice and dry, much different than how the day began.

The normally-bustling Ocean Drive looked more like a ghost town earlier on Monday as Mother Nature delivered a soaking courtesy of Tropical Storm Gordon.

Business was slow. The beach was empty. The storm put a damper on so many holiday plans.

"We were planning to go out on the beach and have some fun but yesterday when we were driving we saw the gust of wind and the rain falling and we were like, 'Ok this is not what we expected'," said tourist Kandarp Nyatei.

Beaches were closed all across Miami-Dade because of a high risk of rip currents. From Kendall to Homestead and across South Florida, people felt the effects of the storm that formed off the Keys.

"Windy, rainy, heavy rain and a lot of water," described driver Richard Sanchez.

With all the rain that fell in Homestead, it nearly flooded out Southwest 328th St. near the Turnpike.

"The roads are really flooded, you have to drive super slowly. It's really bad," said driver Irene Willick.

In some areas that water was more than a foot deep, making driving very difficult. Despite heavy rain, some found a big upside to this: Gordon wasn't a hurricane.

"I rather get all the rain that I can now, so I don't have to deal with putting up the shutters, so I don't care. I welcome the rain," said resident Ricardo Santiago.

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