Emergency management recommends evacuations for parts of county, classes canceled as Space Coast braces for Tropical Storm Nicole
Tropical Storm Nicole continued to intensify Tuesday with Space Coast residents bracing for winds and the potential of flash flooding from the system as the storm steers toward Florida.
Brevard Emergency Management issued evacuation recommendations for parts of the county Tuesday afternoon at 2:15 p.m. The recommendations will go into effect at 7 a.m. Wednesday for residents on barrier islands including the Kennedy Space Center area to south beaches and Merritt Island, as well as those in mobile homes and manufactured housing, those in low-lying or flood-prone areas and those with medical needs who rely on equipment run by electricity.
The National Weather Service issued a hurricane warning Tuesday morning, meaning that hurricane-force winds of at least 74 mph are expected in the affected area within the next 36 hours. Brevard Public Schools along with Eastern Florida State College also canceled classes for students and faculty.
The storm - about 400 miles east of Melbourne - is forecast to grow to near hurricane or Category 1 hurricane strength by Wednesday, before computer models show it barreling across central and northern Florida and moving into southern Georgia, the National Hurricane Center reported. Computer models show a possible impact between Palm Beach and Brevard counties.
“It could become a hurricane by 1 a.m. Thursday, somewhere off of the Florida coast,” said Cassie Leahy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne
“It will be a Category 1 storm. Category 1 storms are still fairly strong.”
As of 11 a.m., Brevard County Emergency Management had issued no word on storm shelters or evacuations. An update on storm preparations is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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Brevard Public Schools — which has nearly 75,000 students — canceled classes for Wednesday and Thursday, along with any programs. The district is also already closed Friday for Veterans Day.
Eastern Florida State College issued a cancellation notice to its students and facility noting that the campuses will be closed beginning Wednesday and that all classes are canceled through Thursday. The college was already closed on Friday for Veterans Day.
Florida Institute of Technology alerted students and faculty Tuesday that classes will be held remotely online on Wednesday and Thursday. Florida Tech offices and academic buildings, closed Wednesday and Thursday, will remain closed until further notice, with only essential personnel reporting for work on campus. Residence halls will stay open for students, university officials said.
Other entities, from NASA to Health First and the Melbourne-Orlando International Airport, are monitoring the storm, too.
Nicole is moving at 9 mph and is about 400 miles east-northeast of the Bahamas, according to the 1 p.m. update from the hurricane center. In Brevard County, wind gusts are already picking up with the surf becoming more choppy.
Multiple warnings and advisories — including a storm surge advisory, flood warning and tropical storm warning and hurricane watch — are also in effect for Brevard and neighboring counties as weather officials forecast threats to life and property with Nicole’s pending passage.
The peak rainfall for Brevard — still saturated in places from Hurricane Ian — will be between 4 to 6 inches of rain with more in some areas, weather officials said.
J.D. Gallop is a Criminal Justice/Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard County braces for impact from Tropical Storm Nicole