Week Ahead · November 2, 2026

South Florida This Week: 5 Stories to Watch, November 2–8

By the SFL Today team · Published November 2, 2026 · South Florida, FL

The Miami skyline at night. This week South Florida votes on a new governor, federal investigators take up a deadly jet crash in Palm Beach County, and flood water threatens at both ends of the week. Photo: Joe de Sousa via Unsplash.

South Florida news this week runs on a ballot, a crash investigation, and two rounds of high water. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, with Florida choosing a governor and a U.S. senator. In Palm Beach County, federal investigators hold their first briefing Monday on the Learjet crash that killed nine people on Sunday. A flood watch covers the region through Monday evening, coastal flooding lasts into Tuesday, and the next king tide window opens Friday — the same weekend No. 1 Miami plays at Notre Dame and the Dolphins come home. Here are the five stories to watch.

1. Election Day is Tuesday — governor, Senate, and Amendment 3

Polls are open Tuesday, November 3, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Election Day voters must use their assigned precinct, according to the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections. Early voting ended Sunday, November 1, after two weeks at 28 Miami-Dade sites. Mail ballots must be received — not just postmarked — by 7 p.m. Tuesday; on Election Day they can be returned only to Elections Headquarters in Doral or the downtown branch office, the county says.

At the top of the ballot, Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly are competing to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Republican Sen. Ashley Moody faces Democrat Angie Nixon in the special election for the Senate seat Moody was appointed to fill. The final stretch polling is close: a University of North Florida survey released October 21 put Donalds ahead of Jolly 49% to 47% — inside the margin of error — and Moody ahead of Nixon 49% to 45%, according to the Palm Beach Post.

The ballot runs deeper than the two big races. Florida voters decide three constitutional amendments, including Amendment 3, which would increase the homestead exemption for certain non-school property taxes and lower the assessment growth cap for non-homestead properties, according to the Miami Patriot voter guide, which also lists six Miami-Dade charter questions and a school-tax renewal on county ballots. Inside the City of Miami, voters decide a bond referendum and special election the same day, according to the City of Miami, which says results will begin posting at about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday. Constitutional amendments need 60% to pass in Florida.

2. The NTSB investigates Sunday’s Learjet crash in Palm Beach County

A Learjet 60 flying from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas crashed at about 12:50 p.m. on Sunday, November 1, near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in the Greenacres and Lake Worth Beach area, killing all nine people on board, according to reporting by The Business Standard, carrying Reuters. Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a press conference near the site that no deaths on the ground had been reported. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said the crash left a large crater near the entrance to a mobile home park and that about 600 people were evacuated to two county shelters.

This week belongs to the investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board has launched a go-team to Lake Worth Beach, with investigators arriving Sunday and Monday morning and a media briefing scheduled for Monday in West Palm Beach, according to Aerospace Global News’s summary of the board’s statements. The board says it will examine the wreckage, flight data, air traffic control communications, and weather conditions; the FAA is supporting the investigation, and no cause has been determined. Flightradar24 data cited in the Reuters reporting showed the jet’s descent rate at one point exceeded 32,000 feet per minute. The names of the nine people aboard had not been released as of Monday morning.

3. Flood watch Monday, coastal flooding into Election Day

The week starts wet. The National Weather Service in Miami extended its Flood Watch to all of South Florida through 7 p.m. Monday, November 2, after pockets of very heavy rain caused localized flash flooding on Sunday, according to the NWS alerts compiled by Storm Recovery Hub. On Sunday evening the weather service reported water entering homes in communities near Military Trail in West Palm Beach, roads near Okeechobee Road and Military Trail impassable, and 9 to 12 inches of rain reported in that area. The original watch warned scattered locations could see 3 to 5 inches through Monday, with isolated spots reaching 5 to 7 inches in a few hours.

The coast stays at risk after the rain watch expires. NWS Miami extended Coastal Flood Advisories for coastal Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties through 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 3 — Election Day — for minor to moderate coastal flooding, with a high rip current risk through Tuesday, according to the same NWS alert summary. Weatherboy, reporting the Miami Herald’s coverage, notes forecasters expect the disturbance to fade by Wednesday, bringing drier but warmer weather. The standing rule all week: never drive through flooded roads. For background on why the coast floods at high tide, read our explainer, King Tides in South Florida, Explained.

4. King tides return Friday, November 6 through Sunday

Just as the early-week water recedes, the next scheduled high-tide window opens. The next king tide period is forecast for November 6–9, with minor to moderate flooding possible, according to the Miami Herald reporting summarized by Weatherboy. NWS Miami forecaster Alejandra Garcia told the Herald forecasters are not expecting this round to reach major flood stage. The window follows the record-setting late-October tides that swamped parts of the coast.

In Miami Beach, the City of Miami Beach lists peak king tide times of 6:26 a.m. and 6:38 p.m. on Friday, November 6, 7:59 a.m. and 8:05 p.m. on Sunday, November 8, and 8:42 a.m. on Monday, November 9, noting that water can stay noticeably high for 1.5 to 2 hours around each peak. The South Florida Water Management District outlook cited by EIN Presswire lists the same November 6–9 window, with further rounds on November 23–26 and December 22–27. If you park on a flood-prone street in Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, or the Las Olas Isles, move the car before Friday morning’s tide, not after the water is up.

5. No. 1 Miami at Notre Dame Saturday, Dolphins at home Sunday

The sports week builds to Saturday night in South Bend. No. 1 Miami (8–0) plays at Notre Dame (7–1) on Saturday, November 7, at 7:30 p.m. ET at Notre Dame Stadium, on NBC and Peacock, according to the South Bend Tribune. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 18-9-1, but Miami won the last meeting 27–24 on August 31, 2025, in Miami Gardens, the Tribune reports. The Palm Beach Post notes it is Miami’s first November trip to South Bend in decades, and the Hurricanes close the season with three straight home games after it.

Sunday brings the home game. The Miami Dolphins, who fell 24–19 to the New England Patriots at home on Sunday, host the Detroit Lions at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, November 8, at 1 p.m. ET, according to the schedule published by Sports Illustrated. Between the Hurricanes on Saturday night and the Dolphins on Sunday afternoon, it is the biggest South Florida football weekend of November.

What’s next

Vote Tuesday at your assigned precinct — polls close at 7 p.m., and a mail ballot delivered after 7 p.m. does not count. Watch Monday’s NTSB briefing out of West Palm Beach for the first official account of the Learjet’s final minutes, keep clear of flooded streets through Tuesday, and check tide times again before Friday. Catch up on last week’s coverage with our October 30 – November 1 weekend roundup and last Monday’s October 26 – November 1 week ahead. Our Wednesday deep dive lands in SFL Today Originals midweek, and results coverage runs in the SFL Today news feed Tuesday night.