Tropical storm Nicole is expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane, striking Florida on Wednesday night, then moving along the Southeast into the mid-Atlantic through the weekend, today’s weather alerts and news.
NWS weather alerts for Wednesday
Heavy snow and blizzard conditions in the West and Central US, while tropical storm Nicole will affect the eastern US.
Here are Wednesday’s weather alerts from the National Weather Service (NWS).
Blizzard warning: southern and central North Dakota; north-central South Dakota.
Winter storm warning for portions of: Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Nevada, and California.
Winter weather advisory for portions of: Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming.
Winter storm watch: northeastern North Dakota, northern Minnesota.
High wind warning and wind advisories for portions of: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, Wyoming, Florida, Georgia, and South Dakota.
Hurricane warning: Florida: southern and southeast Georgia, southern and southeast South Carolina.
Nicole projected to strike Florida as Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday night
The latest forecast puts tropical storm Nicole expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday afternoon when it reaches the Bahamas and makes landfall along the southeastern Florida coast in the nighttime hours, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Evacuations were undertaken from vulnerable locations in the northwestern Bahamas and have already begun in the sunshine state as of Wednesday morning, CBS reported.
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), as of 10 AM ET, Tropical Storm Nicole had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph and was moving west at 12 mph.
Rough surf from the storm has already collapsed a beach safety office in Daytona Beach Shores, Click Orlando reported.
Nicole storm track
After making landfall as Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday night, Nicole will diminish to a tropical storm as it moves over Central Florida on Thursday morning, moving to Northwestern Florida by the evening hours, and moving into central Georgia by 7 AM on Friday as a tropical depression, continuing across the Carolinas. By Friday evening, Nicole will be over southern Virginia as a post-tropical depression.
Dangerous weather through the weekend from Nicole will stretch to Northeast
Tornadoes and severe weather are possible in the Southeast over the next three days.
On Wednesday, Thunderstorms are expected across most of Florida, with the exception of the Panhandle and along the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas.
On Thursday, thunderstorms for the Southeast, and into the mid-South, with rain stretching into parts of the Ohio Valley in the mid-Atlantic. Heavy rain could bring potential flooding over Central and Northern Florida, southern and central Georgia, and southern South Carolina.
On Friday, thunderstorms will stretch from Florida to the northeast, delivering heavy rain with the potential of severe weather over the Carolinas, and flooding over multiple states from northeastern Georgia all the way north to Vermont.
NASA Artemis I moon rocket launch delayed by tropical weather
NASA’s planned launch of its Artemis I moon rocket has been delayed yet again as a tropical storm and a potential hurricane is threatening the Florida coast.
Fuel leaks have kept the rocket grounded since August, then Hurricane Ian postponed a launch at the end of September. Last week, NASA moved the rocket back to the pad and had planned a launch on Monday. But now, the space agency said it will delay the launch until at least next Wednesday due to tropical storm Nicole, Fox 19 reported.
The $4.1 billion mission is aimed at sending an empty crew capsule around the moon and back with any flight test prior to another mission with astronauts within a couple of years, WLWT reported. NASA plans to put astronauts back on the lunar surface by 2025.
