Tropical Storm Leslie (2000)

Tropical Storm Leslie was a weak, short-lived tropical cyclone in October 2000 that had significant impacts in its developmental stage. The 12th named storm of the 2000 Atlantic hurricane season, Leslie formed on October 4 over eastern Florida as a subtropical cyclone. It originated from a tropical wave that interacted with a stalled cold front over southern Florida. Their interaction produced intense rainbands across the Miami metropolitan area, with the heaviest rainfall on October 3. After moving away from the state, the weather system became more organized and evolved into a tropical cyclone. Leslie briefly threatened the island of Bermuda while moving northeastward, but it passed northwest of the island. On October 7, the storm transitioned into an extratropical cyclone over the open Atlantic Ocean, later moving over southeastern Newfoundland. The storm that was formerly Leslie intensified before merging with another larger extratropical storm near the British Isles on October 10.

The precursor to Leslie produced torrential rainfall across Florida, reaching 17.5 in (440 mm) in South Miami. The weather system set daily rainfall records for both Miami and Key West. The flooding damaged thousands of houses and caused three deaths. Damage in southern Florida totaled $950 million (2000 USD), around half of which was from agricultural damage. After the flooding, portions of south Florida were declared a disaster area.