Severe Weather Alert: Storm Nicole
A hurricane warning has been issued for parts of the northwestern Bahamas, including Freeport, Grand Bahama. This means hurricane conditions are expected in the area, in this case by Wednesday.
Tropical storm warnings are now in effect from Hallandale Beach, Florida, northward to Altamaha Sound, Georgia, where tropical storm conditions are anticipated by Tuesday night into Wednesday.
In addition to the tropical storm warning, a hurricane watch remains in effect for eastern Florida from the Space Coast south to Hallandale Beach in Broward County, including Lake Okeechobee. That means hurricane conditions are possible in this area by Wednesday night, depending on how much Nicole intensifies.
Tropical storm watches extend from Hallandale Beach to north of Ocean Reef, Florida, and along part of Florida’s Gulf Coast, from Bonita Beach to Ochlockonee River.
A storm surge warning is also in effect from North Palm Beach, Florida, to Altamaha Sound, Georgia, as well as a stretch of the St. Johns River in northeast Florida from Georgetown to the where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean north of Jacksonville Beach.
Nicole is making its turn and will continue its general westward track toward the Bahamas and Florida through midweek.
Nicole may become a Category 1 hurricane at any time near the northwest Bahamas or prior to landfall on Florida’s Atlantic coast sometime late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. However, impacts will arrive well before that happens, as we’ll detail below.
Nicole will then curl north near or over Florida before getting picked up by a cold front that turns the storm northeastward over the Southeast states on Friday. The remnant energy and moisture from Nicole will team up with that cold front to wring out heavy rain up the East Coast into Saturday.
