Subtropical Storm Nicole is now expected to become a hurricane over the Bahamas before hitting the east coast of Florida on Wednesday, well enough after polls close to avoid disrupting polling on Election Day, forecasters said. “We won’t really start to see significant impacts from Nicole until Tuesday night into Wednesday, so it really shouldn’t have a huge impact on tomorrow’s polls,” hurricane expert Phillippe Papin told The Associated Press. “Unfortunately, this is going to be a very large storm, with a very large wind field on the north side. This will cause some pretty significant surf, a potentially dangerous storm surge somewhere along the east coast of Florida, and heavy rainfall and possibly significant winds over a wide area Papin added. A hurricane warning is in effect for the northwestern Bahamas, including the Abacos, Berry Islands, Bimini and Grand Bahama Island, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Andros Island, New Providence and Elefthera. A hurricane watch is in effect for Florida’s Atlantic coast from Brevard County to Broward County, as well as the Lake Okeechobee area. A storm surge watch has been issued from Broward County to mid-coast Georgia. The hurricane center predicted a particularly wobbly forward motion for Nicole as it approaches Florida before moving into the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. At 4 p.m. on Monday, had top winds of 75 kph and was centered about 435 miles (705 kilometers) east-northeast of the northwestern Bahamas, the advisory said. The storm was moving northwest at 9 mph (15 km/h). “Don’t focus on Nicole’s exact track as it is expected to be a major storm with hazards extending north of the center and out of the cone, affecting much of the Florida peninsula and parts of the southeastern US. “, the advisory said. Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis declared a state of emergency for 34 counties in the storm’s potential path, after caution. “While at this time this storm does not appear to become much stronger, I urge all Floridians to be prepared and listen to announcements from local emergency management officials,” DeSantis said in a statement. Large parts of the state have yet to recover from the devastating Hurricane Ian, which hit southwest Florida on Sept. 28 as a powerful Category 4 hurricane and dumped massive amounts of rain, causing flooding in central Florida. Along Florida’s central Atlantic coast, nervous county managers warned residents that the tropical storm could cause more flooding and beach erosion just weeks after Ian inundated the region with unprecedented water levels. In Volusia County, where Daytona Beach is located, county officials advised coastal residents to consider moving to a safer location as soon as possible. Volusia County Emergency Manager Jim Judge said the area could get 4 inches to 8 inches (10.2 cm to 20.3 cm) of rain and winds strong enough to cause flooding and widespread power outages, along with more permanent damage. “We need to take this storm very seriously because it could cause more coastal erosion, which could be devastating to our waterfront properties affected by Hurricane Ian,” Judge said in a statement. Volusia County is one of the few counties in Florida where driving is allowed on beaches. Vehicles have been banned from the sand since Tuesday until the storm passes. County officials said repairs to seawalls damaged by Ian will no longer be possible after Monday because the tides will be too high. Building inspectors were also monitoring the structural integrity of about a dozen oceanfront homes already damaged by Ian and threatened by the new storm. “The potential for impacts is very significant from an erosion standpoint,” said Jessica Fentress, coastal division director for Volusia County. “They’re asking for a swell event, over high tide over a windy situation.” In Seminole County, northeast of Orlando, officials opened sandbag distribution sites Monday. Just as the waters had receded from hundreds of residents’ homes, Seminole County faced the possibility of 7 inches (17.8 cm) of rain in some areas from Danielle, said Alan Harris, Seminole County’s emergency manager. Officials also worried about the dangers of winds blowing large piles of debris still in the streets and yards left by Ian. “Nobody wants to hear this, but that’s the way it looks as of today,” Harris said at a news conference Monday. “We’re trying to prepare our community for the worst and hope for the best.” A subtropical storm is a nonfrontal low pressure system that has characteristics of both tropical and extratropical cyclones. They tend to have a larger wind field, extending much farther from their centers. Forecasters said the storm could potentially become a tropical system as it continues to develop. The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1st and ends on November 30th.
