STEWART, Florida – Although deadly Hurricane Nicole was downgraded to a tropical storm, it remained a significant and dangerous condition, hitting the region with powerful winds and heavy rains, causing more than 300,000 homes and businesses in central Florida to be hit Thursday. Power outage.
The storm proved deadly on Thursday, as two people died from electrocution when they touched downed power lines in the Orlando area, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. “Never touch a broken power line,” said the sheriff’s office. Tweet.
November’s rare hurricane made landfall south of Vero Beach early Thursday morning as a Category 1 storm and concentrated about 45 miles north of Tampa at 1pm. A swath of southeastern flooding will occur over the next few days.
“This is a life-threatening situation,” Jack Bieven, senior hurricane specialist at the Hurricane Center, wrote in the advisory. We should take all necessary actions to protect our property,” he said.
Tornado watches were issued to parts of Florida and Georgia. St. Augustine, where the iconic Lions Bridge that spans the Intracoastal Waterway was under siege from Nicole, had a tornado warning Thursday morning.
In a post on Twitter, the city said, “The city is flooding rapidly and the Lions Bridge is closed. There are more impassable and closed roads than normal flooded areas.”
Just weeks after Hurricane Ian caused similar damage to nests, the storm also washed up more sea turtle eggs across the Treasure Coast. Several cracked and broken sea turtle eggs were found washed up on the wooden boardwalk and beach access along with scattered debris Thursday at Santa Lucea Beach in Martin County.
Residents have reported similar sightings on the Treasure Coast. On the Treasure Coast, storm surges and waves have swept away beaches with known sea turtle nests. After Hurricane Ian in September, hundreds of sea turtle eggs were unearthed and scattered on the beaches of Fort Pierce and other Treasure Coast cities.
Fellsmere, a town of 5,000 people 20 miles northwest of Vero Beach, is blocked by a fallen tree, police Facebook said. All streets were open except one.
“There has been no major flooding anywhere in the city and as of this posting, no power lines have been identified as out of service,” police said.
Satellite Beach’s Janet and Ken Comey were among those who gathered at Pelican Beach Park to watch the waves at high tide on Thursday morning. They said they were doing well during the storm. The couple moved to Satellite Beach from New Hampshire three years before her.
“When we moved here, the first thing we did was install a full house generator,” said Janet Comey. “We don’t have to use it.” was.”
What is a subtropical storm?:What are subtropical storms and how do they differ from tropical or temperate systems?
What’s going on with Nicole?
Nicole, with tropical storm gales extending outwards up to 345 miles, was moving northwest at 15 miles per hour, and forecasters predicted a turn to the north.
“Don’t focus on Nicole’s exact path,” said hurricane expert Robbie Berg. “This is a large storm with hazards well-extended north of the center, outside the forecast cone.”
The center of Nicol was still forecast to appear far northeast of the Gulf of Mexico late Thursday. It was done. Heavy rains may flood some areas.
According to the Hurricane Center, Nicole is expected to travel north to Georgia later tonight and pass through the southeastern United States on Friday.
Warnings and monitors have been issued for many areas of Florida, including the southwestern Gulf of Mexico coastline devastated during Hurricane Ian’s September 28, Category 4 storm. . – Damage that many people are still dealing with.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said, “Most of Florida will be affected all day long.”
What is the Suffer-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale? Hurricane category scale breakdown
100 mph gusts detected at Kennedy Space Center
Observations from sensors around Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, where the Artemis I rocket is located, Wind gusts of up to 100 mph were recorded when Hurricane Nicol passed.
Sensors picked up some of the strongest readings between 3am and 5am, but it remains unclear which sensor was responsible for the readings. Some were anchored to lightning suppression towers surrounding NASA’s rockets, at ranges of 130 to 450 feet, and could have provided higher readings than experienced near the ground.
NASA previously said the Space Launch System rocket designed to fly the Artemis I mission to the moon could handle winds of 85 miles per hour at the 60-foot level. JMA officials are working with weather experts from various agencies, including the Space Force, to analyze storms and data accuracy.
– Emre Kelly, Florida Today
Nicole Comes to NASA:Storm brought powerful winds to NASA’s exposed Artemis I rocket
Nicole’s “Nightmare” from Wilbur by the Sea
On Thursday morning, beachfront homeowners in Wilbur-by-the-Sea, Fla., were faced with a dreaded nightmare as Tropical Storm Nicole approached Borussia and Flagler counties.
Christa Goodrich, property manager of Salty Dog Vacations’ luxury beachfront vacation homes, said:
“FEMA is here. The National Guard is here. Sheriff Chitwood is here,” she said. “They’re knocking on doors and door-to-door for Wilbur and making everyone leave because the ocean is basically creating a sinkhole under these houses.”
Goodrich, citing local officials, said seven houses along the beach had already fallen into the sea. “And they expect more,” she said. “It will change our landscape forever.”
– Jim Abbott, Daytona Beach News Journal
Rare November Hurricane Nicole
Nicole is the third hurricane to hit Florida in November since records began in 1853. The previous hurricanes were the 1935 “Yankee” hurricane and his 1985 hurricane his Kate.
Gov. DeSantis says Nicole is ‘not as severe a storm as Hurricane Ian’
DeSantis said Thursday that Hurricane Nicole didn’t hit the same way Ian did earlier this year, but Florida officials are ready to clean up the mess Nicole left behind.
“This is clearly not as severe a storm as Hurricane Ian,” said DeSantis, noting that coastal erosion is a problem in some areas.
The storm surge affected several structures along the coast where Nicol landed south of Vero Beach, especially near Volusia County.
Nicole has also caused flash floods in some areas, with power outages in about 3% of the state, DeSantis said.
“The impact was basically what was expected,” the governor added.
According to DeSantis, 17,000 utility linemen are on standby waiting for the storm to pass so power can be restored. The state also mobilized 600 National Guard personnel and from the Florida Department of Transportation he mobilized a crew of 250 to inspect and remove roads and bridges.
“We are prepared and have the resources to meet post-storm needs that may arise,” DeSantis said.
– Zack Anderson, USA Today Network-Florida
When did Nicole first land?
As a tropical storm, Nicole first made landfall on Great Abaco Island in the northwestern Bahamas at 11:55 am Wednesday. The storm was reported to have maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.
Officials in the Bahamas said more than 860 people were in more than 20 shelters. The northwestern part of the archipelago reported severe flooding, fallen trees and power lines, and water outages.
Nicole strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday, hitting Florida with sustained winds of 75 mph. This is the first hurricane to make landfall on Florida’s east coast later this year.
Where did the residents evacuate?
In Florida, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office tweeted that a storm surge from Nicole had breached a seawall along the Indian River Drive, which runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office also said seawater had breached part of the road on Hutchinson Island.
Residents of several Florida counties (Flagler, Palm Beach, Martin, Volusia) have been ordered to evacuate such barrier islands, lowlands and mobile homes. Volusia, home to Daytona Beach, has issued a curfew and warned that the coastal bridge used by evacuees will be closed if winds reach 39 mph.
About 400 people checked into a Palm Beach County shelter on Wednesday.
Several other communities on Florida’s east coast have been urged or ordered to evacuate. DeSantis announced that 15 shelters have opened along the state’s coast. He said the Florida National Guard has mobilized 600 guards, in addition to the seven urban search and rescue teams on standby.
President Joe Biden authorized federal emergency aid to 45 of Florida’s 67 counties, as well as the Miccosukee and Seminoles.
Is climate change causing massive hurricanes in the Atlantic?:This is what science says.
In which states do you feel Nicole’s influence?
Nicole is expected to affect much of Florida, US parts of the southeastern center of Nicole will move across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia on Thursday night and into the Carolina on Friday. Predicted.
Weather forecasters have forecast tornadoes in eastern Florida, southeastern Georgia, and southern South Carolina Wednesday night through Thursday. Heavy rains are a major concern, and Nicole can cause dangerous storm surges of up to five feet in coastal areas of Florida and Georgia.
It can be a fatal mistake:Many people misunderstand this famous hurricane forecast chart.
Nicole Trucker
Greenlee reported from Stuart. Contributed by John McCarthy, FLORIDA TODAY. Associated Press
