Nicole is forecast to become a hurricane near the northwestern Bahamas and expected to make landfall along Florida’s east coast on Wednesday.
Schools in Florida are closing as tropical storm Nicole heads for the state’s Atlantic coast while nearing hurricane-strength.
Nicole is forecast to become a hurricane near the northwestern Bahamas and expected to make landfall along Florida’s east coast as a Category 1 hurricane late on Wednesday, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
Maximum sustained winds are near 70 mph, the centre said on Wednesday, just shy of the 74 mph to become a Category 1 hurricane.
Hurricane warnings have been issued for a large portion of Florida’s Atlantic Coast, from Boca Raton to north of Daytona Beach, with tropical-storm warnings in place for other parts of the state’s coast.
Hurricane Nicole will produce heavy rainfall across the Florida peninsula, with flash and urban flooding likely, the NHC said.
Forecasters also warned residents living near Florida and Georgia’s Atlantic coast to prepare for storm surges.
