Florida is back on high alert as Tropical Storm Nicole churns in the western Atlantic.
Nicole, the tenth tropical storm of the season, currently has winds of 50 miles an hour, and is roughly 460 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida. It’s expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane by Wednesday evening. Hurricane warnings have been issued from Boca Raton to the Flagler-Volusia County, Florida line.
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The storm won’t steer itself. An area of high pressure in the Northern Atlantic will guide Nicole westward into the Appalachians, paving the way for moisture to spread across the eastern U.S. As that happens, an approaching cold front pushes west to east, thanks to upper level flow.
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These two features work in tandem to guiding Nicole’s remnant energy through New England Friday night and Saturday morning. There are no National Weather Service alerts issued for New England at this time.
Uncertainty exists in the strength of Nicole, it’s remnant energy as it departs Florida and interacts with terrain (which would tear it apart), along with precise timing of the upper level steering flow. Thus, specific locations of heavy rainfall and flood impacts are not concrete.
We anticipate that to change as the forecast comes into greater clarity. This will create hazardous conditions for mariners on the coastal waters of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, along with flooding in urban areas and those along the coast.
