FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — 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 voting on Election Day. said the weathermen.
“We won’t really start to see significant impacts from Nicole until Tuesday night into Wednesday, so it really won’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 northerly wind field.  This will produce 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.
Hurricane watches are in effect for the northwestern Bahamas and Florida’s Atlantic coast from Hallandale Beach, north of Miami, north of Daytona Beach, and inland to Lake Okeechobee, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. .
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.  As of 1 p.m. Monday, it had top winds of 45 mph (75 kmh) and was centered about 465 miles (750 kilometers) east of the northwestern Bahamas, the advisory said.
“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.  “, said the consultant.
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.
“While this storm does not currently appear to become much stronger, I urge all Floridians to be prepared and listen to announcements from local emergency management officials.”
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 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.
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Walker reported from New York.  Reporter Mike Schneider contributed from Orlando.