Tropical Storm Nicole to Make Landfall in Florida as Hurricane
HAVANA TIMES – Florida is bracing for Tropical Storm Nicole, which is expected to make landfall late tonight or early Thursday north of West Palm Beach as a Category 1 hurricane with torrential rain and damaging winds. Many residents are still reeling from the destruction left by Hurricane Ian in October, reported Democracy Now.
At 1 PM on Wednesday the center of TS Nicole was located at 175 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida. Maximum sustained winds are currently at 70 mph and rising. The eye of the storm is moving west at 12 mph.
According to the Cuban Weather Institute (Insmet), the island is located on the periphery of the extensive circulation of Nicole, which imposes moderate winds from the north in the western region of the country with speeds between 20 and 35 kilometers per hour, up to 40 kilometers per hour in coastal areas, with higher gusts.
This situation is causing strong swells on the north coast of the western region, with waves that can reach between 2 and 3 meters high today. The persistence of the winds will cause light to moderate coastal flooding in low-lying areas of the north coast of the western region of Cuba, including the Havana Malecon, starting around noon and lasting until Thursday morning.
Also associated with the indirect influence of Nicole, abundant cloudiness prevails over Cuba’s western and central regions with showers, rain, and electrical storms, which can become strong in some locations, notes Insmet.