Tropical Storm Nicole grew even stronger overnight and is expected to make landfall Wednesday night along the east coast of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane.
As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said Nicole was 240 miles east of West Palm Beach with sustained winds reaching 70 mph. A tropical storm warning is in effect early Wednesday for the west coast of Florida.
The storm’s winds would likely reach 75 mph when it makes landfall. Projections put landfall along the Treasure Coast Coast late Wednesday, but the Hurricane Center warned residents to not focus on the exact track of Nicole since it remains a large storm.
After landfall, Nicole’s center is forecast to move across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia on Thursday and Thursday night, and then into the Carolinas on Friday.
The effects from Nicole are expected to reach most of Florida and portions of the southeast United States. Here’s what we know.
Where is Tropical Storm Nicole now?
Here is the latest data on Tropical Storm Nicole rom the National Hurricane Center’s 7 a.m. EST advisory.
- Location: 240 miles east of West Palm Beach
- Maximum sustained winds: 70 mph
- Movement: west-southwest at 13 mph
- Pressure: 986 millibars
- When next advisory will be released: 10 a.m. EST
Nicole is currently large tropical storm. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 460 miles especially to the north of the center. During the past few hours, a National Ocean Service station at the Lake Worth Pier reported sustained winds of 44 mph and a wind gust of 55 mph.
The center of Nicole will approach the northwestern Bahamas on Wednesday morning, move near or over those islands by midday, and approach the east coast of Florida within the hurricane warning area tonight. Some strengthening is expected, and Nicole is forecast to become a hurricane near the northwestern Bahamas and remain a hurricane when it reaches the east coast of Florida tonight.
Nicole is then expected to weaken while moving across Florida and the southeastern United States on Thursday through Friday, and it is likely to become a post-tropical cyclone by Friday night over the Mid-Atlantic states.
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What are Nicole’s potential impacts?
Tropical storm conditions impacting the northwestern Bahamas and portions of Florida’s east coast Wednesday were expected to spread to Georgia and South Carolina later Wednesday. The NHC also forecasted the arrival of hurricane conditions in Florida by Wednesday night or Thursday morning.
Nicole could trigger dangerous storm surge up to 5 feet in areas along the Florida and Georgia coasts, and water levels could reach up to 6 feet in the Bahamas, according to the NHC.
NHC forecasters predicted “a few tornadoes” potentially developing Wednesday night through Thursday across eastern Florida, southeast Georgia and southern South Carolina.
After drenching the northwestern Bahamas and parts of Florida with an expected 3 to 5 inches of rain, Nicole’s heavy rainfall could cause flooding as it spreads north across portions of the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and New York on Thursday into Friday night.
Nicole is a rare November storm
Nicole is a rare storm: Only one hurricane on record has made landfall after Nov. 4 in the continental U.S. That was Hurricane Kate on Nov. 21, 1985, which hit at Category 2 intensity near Mexico Beach, Florida, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
Nicole path: Track the storm here
What does Nicole’s cone of uncertainty represent?
The cone of uncertainty, posted by the National Hurricane Center, shows some possible paths of the storm’s center. As you monitor the forecast, keep in mind that the impact of Nicole may be felt well outside the cone — and that storm tracks go outside of the cone about a third of the time.
As of the latest advisory, tropical-storm-force winds extend 460 miles from the center of Nicole.
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