Nicole Will Move Up the East Coast, Bringing Heavy Rain

Tropical Storm Nicole, which hit the east coast of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane early Thursday, was expected to bring heavy rain from the Carolinas to New England through the weekend, meteorologists said.

After crossing Central Florida on Thursday, Nicole was predicted to emerge over the far northeastern Gulf of Mexico and then move across the Florida Panhandle, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Nicole will move across Georgia and South Carolina on Friday and then farther north, David Roth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center, said on Thursday.

As Nicole moves through the Southeast, it’s likely to bring tornadoes across the region.

“A few tornadoes are expected during the day from northern Florida into eastern Georgia and South Carolina, and possibly overnight into southern North Carolina,” according to an update early Thursday from the Storm Prediction Center.

Tornadoes are common in hurricanes and are often relatively weak and short-lived, but they can still pose a significant threat if one strikes a populated area.

“By time we get to Friday night and into Saturday, the low pressure system associated with the storm is expected to be accelerating up the Appalachians,” before reaching New England by Sunday, Mr. Roth said.

While heavy rain and strong winds from Nicole were a concern for many Floridians, other states in the storm’s path will mainly get rain.

Nicole will likely be downgraded to a tropical depression as it moves over Georgia, Mr. Roth said.

“The forecast is for two to four inches, with local amounts of six inches, as it moves through the southeast Appalachians,” he said. Parts of the Northeast and New England could see lower amounts.

Since the storm was expected to be a rain maker, there was a slight risk of excessive rainfall from the Southeast to New York, according to the Weather Prediction Center.

“The worry is that there could be some hourly rain totals of an inch, inch and a half, which over a few hours could overwhelm” urban areas or places with high elevations, Mr. Roth said.

Once the warmer, tropical-like rainy weather from Nicole pushes through the Northeast, a colder air mass will move across the East, dropping high temperatures well below average on Sunday.