Coast to coast, Florida residents prepping for Nicole's impact
MIAMI - Tropical Storm Nicole is expected to be a Category 1 hurricane when it hits Florida's east coast late Wednesday night.
Forecasters say it could deliver heavy rain, damaging winds, and possibly tornadoes to some places still recovering from Hurricane Ian.
Nicole is expected to be the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States in November in nearly 40 years. Nearly 4 million people along Florida's east coast are under hurricane warnings.
Parts of the coastline have already experienced tropical storm conditions owing to how big Nicole is. Tropical storm force winds, 39 to 73 mph, extended outward up to 460 miles of the storm's center, according to the National Hurricane Center. The enormous wind field, wider than that of stronger Ian on its Florida approach, means nearly the whole state will feel winds of 39 mph or greater from Nicole.
>>>>PHOTOS: Nicole's impacts, effects on Florida
After a Florida landfall, Nicole is expected to weaken while moving across the southeastern US Thursday and Friday. Yet it will continue to threaten flooding and damage to Florida, which is still reeling since Ian struck in September along the west coast, then raked damage across the state, killing at least 120 people there and leveling communities.
Evacuations ordered in some Florida counties
The ominous forecast has led to evacuation orders in some Florida counties still trying to recover from Ian.
Ahead of Nicole, more than a dozen school districts have closed schools Wednesday or will dismiss students early, with some closures running through the week's end, according to the Florida Department of Education.
Orlando International Airport will suspend operations starting Wednesday afternoon. Miami International Airport said it would remain open, adding the storm may affect flights Wednesday.
In Volusia County, home to Daytona Beach, the storm poses a direct threat to life and property, county manager George Recktenwald said. Those in flood-prone areas, RV parks, and other places were ordered to evacuate starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
"Our infrastructure, especially along the coastline, is extremely vulnerable because of Hurricane Ian's impacts," Recktenwald noted in a statement on the county's website. "We expect further erosion along the beach, along with flooding in areas that were previously flooded by Ian. Residents need to take this storm seriously."
In Palm Beach County, an evacuation mandate began at 7 a.m. for zones including barrier islands and low-lying areas, officials said.
Some in Brevard County also were advised to evacuate starting at 7 a.m. The recommendation applies to barrier islands, including areas from Kennedy Space Center south beaches and Merritt Island, plus those in other flood-prone areas, in mobile and manufactured homes, and who are dependent on electricity, the county said.
"A dangerous storm surge from #Nicole is expected along much of the east coast of FL & portions of coastal GA," the National Hurricane Center's Storm Surge Unit said. "The storm surge will be accompanied by large & damaging waves. Please listen to advice from local officials."
Nicole expected to move into southern Georgia
After hitting eastern Florida, Nicole's center -- by then a tropical storm -- is "expected to move across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia Thursday and Thursday night," and may move across the Carolinas Friday, the hurricane center said.
A Hurricane Warning in Florida is in effect from Boca Raton to the Flagler-Volusia County line.
Tropical storm conditions are expected to spread Wednesday through Georgia and South Carolina. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Florida's west coast north of Bonita Beach to Indian Pass. Areas from Altamaha Sound, Georgia, to South Santee River in South Carolina remain under Tropical Storm Warning.
If Nicole becomes a hurricane, it would be the third in the Atlantic Ocean so far this November. That would tie 2001 for the most Atlantic hurricanes in November on record.
