MIAMI, Florida – Nicole is now officially a tropical storm. It formed into a subtropical storm in the Atlantic on Monday and is expected to strengthen further into Tuesday night and Wednesday and may approach the east coast of Florida by Wednesday night.
According to Tuesday’s 10 a.m. ET bulletin According to the National Hurricane Center, the system was located 350 miles northeast of the Bahamas and 460 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida.
The tornado had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was moving west at 9 mph.
Part of South Florida remains in the system’s track cone, though the storm will begin to climb over the Bahamas before reaching the state.
Although the most populous counties in Southeast Florida, Broward and Miami-Dade, left the track cone, a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning remained in place for part of Broward and a tropical storm watch for Miami-Dade. A tornado watch is in effect for Palm Beach, north of Broward.
Notifications and monitoring are in place
Tornado warning
- Abacos, Perry, Bimini and Grand Bahama Islands in the northwestern Bahamas
- Boca Raton to the Flagler/Volusia County line in Florida
Tropical Storm Warning
- Andros Islands, New Providence and Eleuthera in the northwestern Bahamas
- From Hallandale Beach Florida to Boca Raton, Florida
- Flagler/Volusia County Line Florida to Altamaha Sound Georgia
- Lake Okeechobee
Storm surge warning
- North Palm Beach to Altamaha Sound Georgia
- Mouth of the St. Johns River to Georgetown Florida
Hurricane Watch
- From Hallandale Beach to Boca Raton Florida
- Lake Okeechobee
- From the Flagler/Volusia County line to Ponte Vedra Beach
Storm surge monitoring
- From Hallandale Beach south of North Palm Beach to Florida
- Altamaha Sound Georgia to Savannah River Georgia
- Anclod River Florida to Suwannee River Florida
Tropical Storm Watch
- Ocean Reef is just south of Hallandale Beach, north of Florida
- Ochogoni River north of Playa Bonita to Florida
Future plans for Hurricane Nicole
Nicole is forecast to begin a westward or west-southwestward turn on Tuesday and that motion will continue into the early hours of Thursday.
Nicole’s eye will approach the northwestern Bahamas on Tuesday and move near or over those islands on Wednesday. It will approach the east coast of Florida on Wednesday night.
It is predicted that Tuesday will strengthen a little. Nicole will be near hurricane intensity as it moves near or over the northwestern Bahamas on Wednesday.
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A hurricane in November in Florida is unusual
November is the last month of hurricane season, when tropical activity generally begins to wane. However, the 2022 hurricane season has been pushed back and all storms impacting the Atlantic this year formed after August.
Florida has been hit by tropical systems in November nine times in the past 170 years, a 5% chance in any given year.
Seven of those nine are from the Western Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. That makes this week’s developing system, if it converges and hits Florida, extremely rare.
For now, the forecast indicates that rain will increase in frequency and intensity as we approach the middle of the week. It is increasingly windy, dangerous sea conditions and a high risk of rip currents.
According to an analysis by meteorologist John Morales, winds and tides combined with a full moon and rising sea levels to create significant coastal flooding are worsening climate change. Communities near Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach, Miami Shores, Biscayne Boulevard, Edgewater, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and the Florida Keys should prepare for flooding.
Flooding continues in Volusia County. In the Deltona area, residents are complaining that more garbage is not being picked up.