Flash flooding closes Florida airport overnight on busy travel day

A rough storm has drenched parts of Florida with 10 inches of rain in 24 hours, causing dangerous flooding and temporarily closing a major airport.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport closed shortly in the early morning hours due to severe rain and flooding, stopping travelers in their tracks as they rushed to reach their holiday destinations. Sections of the airport were not accessible and flights weren't operational, airport officials said.

Parts of the Fort Lauderdale area have been soaked with more than 1 foot of rain since Sunday.

Flights resumed earlier Monday, though several flights were canceled and over 100 were delayed, according to the airport.

That storm is now moving through the Carolinas, flooding roadways in Charleston.

Flash flood watches are in effect for parts of Georgia and South Carolina through Monday night.

Some spots could pick up an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain before the system starts to pull away from the Southeast Tuesday morning.

A rainy Christmas for California

A western storm is bringing very heavy rain to Southern California on Monday, including Los Angeles and San Diego, with some flooding possible.

The heavy rain will move into Arizona on Tuesday.

Christmas thaw

Outside of the two travel trouble spots in the Southwest and Southeast, it will be a very mild, spring-like Christmas for most of the eastern U.S.

Temperatures will reach the 50s in the Chicago area and the 40s into the Great Lakes and the Northeast.

ABC News' Will Gretsky contributed to this report.