TS Nicole likely to become hurricane

Tropical Storm Nicole strengthened as it churned into the Bahamas on its way to Florida’s Atlantic coast, where a hurricane warning was issued for over 250 miles of shoreline, and millions of citizens were advised to hunker down and prepare.

Nicole, with maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour (110 kilometres per hour), is expected to strengthen into a hurricane on Wednesday, November 9, before making landfall in the United States around Florida’s east coast north of Miami on Wednesday night or early Thursday, November 10, forecasters said.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami issued a hurricane warning for Grand Bahama Island, Bimini, the Berry Islands, and the Abacos in the northwest region of the West Indies archipelago nation.

A 240-mile stretch of Florida’s Atlantic coast from Boca Raton north to roughly Flagler Beach has also been declared hurricane-prone.

The National Hurricane Center also issued storm surge advisories for the northwest Bahamas and much of Florida’s Atlantic coast, warning that Nicole’s gusts could send dangerous seas into low-lying areas far beyond the beach.

“This is a life-threatening situation,” according to the NHC’s most recent bulletin.

The NHC cautioned that storm surge could elevate water levels along island coasts by up to 6 feet (1.8 m) above normal tide stage.

Residents were preparing for the storm on Tuesday on the Bahamian islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, which were hit by Hurricane Dorian three years ago.

Nicole is the 14th Tropical Cyclone formed for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.