AccuWeather Global Weather Center – November 7, 2022 – A hurricane watch was issued along the eastern coast of Florida on Monday as Subtropical Storm Nicole churned across the Atlantic and showed signs of further strengthening as it tracked toward the storm-weary state.
On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in anticipation of Nicole’s arrival.
The Sunshine State faces long-duration impacts from pounding surf, strong winds, and torrential rain. As a result, AccuWeather forecasters have rated Nicole a 1 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes. This scale considers the effects of storm surge, coastal erosion, flooding, wind, and economic damage, while the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind scale only accounts for wind intensity.
Nicole will strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall along the central Florida coast late Wednesday night or early Thursday. Impacts could be severe along Florida’s Atlantic coast and the Florida Peninsula.
Tropical storm and storm surge watches were also issued for parts of Florida and coastal areas of Georgia and South Carolina.
As of Monday afternoon, Nicole continued to pack 45 mph sustained winds and spun 465 miles east of the northwestern Bahamas. It was moving northwestward at nine mph.
The combination of Nicole’s perpendicular track straight into the Florida Peninsula, a broad area of strong easterly winds from the Atlantic, and the full moon’s astronomical effects will hit coastal areas hard from near West Palm Beach to St. Augustine and Jacksonville Beach, forecasters warn.
Along much of the Florida Atlantic coast and the Georgia coast, conditions could be more severe with Nicole compared to Ian. Tides will continue to trend above normal through Wednesday and into Thursday. A water level rise of several feet is likely near and well north of where the storm’s center moves inland.
“In coastal areas, especially from the Space Coast of Florida through the Carolinas, tropical-storm-force wind gusts can occur for 36-48 hours straight,” AccuWeather Director of Forecasting Operations Dan DePodwin said. “This is a longer duration than typical tropical systems.”
Many beaches and dunes have been torn up in the wake of Ian’s indirect impacts and could be especially vulnerable to a direct assault by a tropical storm or hurricane coming in from the east.
There is a chance the center of the storm could track farther to the south or to the north. A track farther to the south along the eastern coast of Florida could bring more significant coastal flooding and wind to Fort Lauderdale and Miami. In contrast, a track to the north could bring more severe conditions to the Florida Space Coast and the Daytona Beach and Jacksonville area.
“It is extremely unusual for tropical storms to hit the east coast of Florida in November,” AccuWeather Senior Weather Editor and meteorologist Jesse Ferrell said. “Besides the 1935 Miami Hurricane, the only other storm [to hit Florida’s east coast during the month] was an unnamed system in 1946.”
Only two hurricanes have struck Florida during November, Ferrell added. Kate crashed into the Florida Panhandle as a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale in November of 1985 — 50 years after the Miami Hurricane had made landfall in the state’s southeastern part.