A turn to the north on Tuesday took Miami-Dade and Broward counties out of the forecast cone for Tropical Storm Nicole. But not Palm Beach County: by Tuesday afternoon, hurricane warnings were issued for a large portion of Florida’s Atlantic Coast, from Boca Raton to north of Daytona Beach.
With the storm likely to be a hurricane by the time it reaches Florida’s east coast, officials in Palm Beach County have ordered residents of coastal and other vulnerable areas to evacuate early Wednesday morning. Miami-Dade County locked down its drawbridges and the South Florida Water Management district began drawing down canals and checking pumps.
As of Tuesday evening, Miami-Dade was under a tropical storm watch while Broward was under a hurricane watch. A storm-surge warning was in effect from North Palm Beach up the coast into Georgia, but forecasters warned that Broward and Miami-Dade counties could also experience flooding.
Schools in Palm Beach County will be closed Wednesday and Thursday. The bus system will be suspended at noon Wednesday, with shelters opening at 7 a.m. In Broward and Miami-Dade, schools will be closed on Wednesday.
Tropical Storm Nicole was still east of the Bahamas late afternoon Tuesday, and the system had begun strengthening. The storm, with sustained winds of 65 mph, was traveling west at 10 mph. It is a sprawling storm, with tropical storm force winds extending up to 380 miles from the center, which means most of the state will be affected.
Meteorologist Megan Borowski said that Nicole will approach the Atlantic coast anywhere between Flagler Beach and West Palm Beach Wednesday night.
“The forecast holds that over the next 36 plus hours Nicole will strengthen, and it could become a category 1 hurricane before it makes landfall along the Atlantic coast of Florida very early on Thursday,” she said. “Regardless of its ultimate intensity, Nicole is poised to produce damaging winds with gusts in excess of hurricane strength, and inches of rainfall to the Florida peninsula.”
In addition, storm surge flooding is expected to impact the coast: 1 to 2 feet of inundations from Hallandale Beach southward, 2 to 4 feet from Hallandale Beach to North Palm Beach, and 3 to 5 feet up to Jacksonville. Borowski encouraged South Floridians to finish storm preparations tonight as tropical storm force winds could arrive early tomorrow.
In Miami-Dade County, Miami Beach, Biscayne Bay and east of Homestead are most vulnerable to storm surge. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said seasonal king tides could worsen that flooding.
Forecasters say Nicole is likely to come ashore as a Category 1 hurricane, with 75 mph sustained winds, then turn north as it crosses the state. The turn would benefit southwest Florida, which is recovering from Hurricane Ian. Ian came ashore as a Category 4 storm near Fort Myers on Sept. 28 and left 130 people dead in the state.
The area under a hurricane warning stretches inland, covering Lake Okeechobee, with tropical storm watches in effect on the Gulf Coast — from Bonita Beach in southwest Florida to the Ochlockonee River in the Panhandle.
Three counties have ordered evacuations: Palm Beach, Brevard and Volusia. In Palm Beach County, the order applies to evacuation zones A and B -- which cover coastal areas from the county line, north to Countyline Road and mostly east of US-1. This also includes mobile home communities, barrier islands and low-lying areas. County officials said the evacuation order affects 52,000 residents of mobile homes and 67,000 residents of barrier islands.