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United Kingdom Hurricane Watch Issued For Parts Of Florida's East Coast
- Subtropical Storm Nicole has formed east of the Bahamas.
- This storm will track toward the Bahamas and the Southeast U.S. coast this week.
- Nicole could be a strong tropical storm or possibly at hurricane strength when it nears Florida.
- Hurricane, storm surge, and tropical storm watches have been issued in Florida.
- Regardless, strong winds, heavy rain, high surf, rip currents and coastal flooding are expected along the Southeast coast.
Subtropical Storm Nicole has prompted hurricane, tropical storm and storm surge watches as a a prolonged period of coastal flooding, beach erosion, strong winds, high surf, rip currents, and heavy rain is expected in Florida and parts of the Southeast this week.
Nicole became the 14th storm of the Atlantic season early Monday morning and is centered several hundred miles east of the Bahamas.
The storm has been classified as subtropical for now, which means it's a hybrid type system that has characteristics of both a tropical and non-tropical storm. Nicole is forecast to transition into a fully tropical storm in the next couple of days.
(MORE: Difference Between Subtropical And Tropical)
A hurricane watch has been issued in eastern Florida from the Space Coast south to Hallandale Beach in Broward County, including Lake Okeechobee, and also in the northwestern Bahamas.
Tropical storm watches extend south to Miami-Dade County and extend north of the Space Coast into Glynn County, Georgia, including Daytona Beach and St. Simons Island.
A storm surge watch is also in effect from Glynn County, Georgia to Broward County, Florida.
These watches mean the respective conditions are possible, within 48 hours. Those areas could be upgraded to warnings.
Nicole is making its turn toward the west right now and will continue its general westward track toward the Bahamas and Florida through midweek.
During that time, Nicole is forecast to become a strong tropical storm and could even approach Florida at near Category 1 hurricane strength. Landfall of Nicole's center is expected on Florida's eastern coast sometime early Thursday, however, impacts will arrive well before that happens.
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 or its adjacent coastal waters.
Current Status, Forecast Path
(The red-shaded area denotes the potential path of the center of the tropical cyclone. It's important to note that impacts (particularly heavy rain, high surf, coastal flooding, winds) with any tropical cyclone usually spread beyond its forecast path. )Gusty winds, high surf and dangerous rip currents are already on the increase on the Southeast coast because of a pressure gradient between Nicole and a strong high-pressure system building toward the eastern states.
The worst of Nicole's impacts on the Southeast coast could arrive by late Tuesday or Wednesday and might last in some areas well through the second half of the week.
Nicole will be a large system, and therefore, it's likely to produce coastal flooding, tropical storm-force winds (39+ mph winds), heavy rainfall rough surf and rip currents along a broad portion of the Southeast coast from Florida to Georgia, the Carolinas and the Virginia Tidewater. The northwest Bahamas will also feel these impacts.
If Nicole is a strong tropical storm or is at hurricane strength when it strikes Florida, then it could have a more concentrated area of storm-surge flooding and damaging winds near where its center crosses the coast Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
Rainfall Outlook
(This should be interpreted as a broad outlook of where the heaviest rain may fall. Higher amounts may occur where bands or clusters of thunderstorms stall for over a period of a few hours. )Check back with us at weather.com for important updates.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
