Hurricane Nicole made landfall on Florida’s east coast near Vero Beach and is now headed inland into Central Florida as a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Hurricane Nicole makes landfall south of Vero Beach, Florida. pic.twitter.com/C2RnmPtgbs
— CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) November 10, 2022
Around 4 a.m. on Nov. 10th, an advisory by the NHC said Nicole had reduced intensity to sustained winds of 70 mph, located about 25 miles inland northwest of Vero Beach and 60 miles southeast of Orlando moving west-northwest at 14 mph.
According to the Orlando Sentinel,
The center of the massive storm is projected to carve a path toward Florida’s Gulf Coast through the Four Corners area where Orange, Osceola, Lake and Polk counties meet, but with tropical-storm-force winds stretching out 450 miles, the dangers from the storm continue to threaten nearly the entire state with the strongest winds located to the north and west of the storm’s center.
“Rain and squall bands will continue to rotate around the large circulation of Nicole. Tropical Storm conditions, with gusts at or near Hurricane Force in squalls, will spread inland, mainly from Osceola County northward, while continuing over the coastal counties of Indian River, Brevard, and Volusia,” according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne. “There will be a 30 to 60-minute lull in the dangerous winds and heavy rain beneath the large center of Nicole as it tracks inland, however, dangerous winds, especially in heavier squalls, will quickly return on its back side. Do not venture outside. Remain in your safe shelter until winds and squalls subside later today.”
Stop light dangle from Hurricane Nicole eye wall on satellite beach pic.twitter.com/mzaRURomKY
— Reed Timmer, PhD (@ReedTimmerAccu) November 10, 2022
Spectrum Bay News 9 in Tampa also reported an increase in wave heights of up to 22 feet in St. Lucie, 19 feet in Volusia, and 18 feet in Brevard counties on the Atlantic coast of Florida.
Hurricane season ends on Nov. 30. Florida has seen a November hurricane hit its shores since Hurricane Kate in 1985, and it’s only the second since recordkeeping began in 1853 with the other being the 1935 Yankee Hurricane.
