Florida braces for major storm after Nicole strengthens into a hurricane

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Just weeks after a deadly hurricane swept through the state, Florida is bracing for another major storm that has the potential to damage areas with heavy rains and destructive winds.

Hurricane Nicole is expected to make landfall in Florida as early as 1 a.m. Thursday. The National Hurricane Center upgraded the storm to a hurricane at around 6 p.m. as it made landfall on the Bahamas. It had sustained winds of up to 75 mph.

The threat of a damaging storm sent state officials scrambling earlier in the day. Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for dozens of counties on Monday. Palm Beach County officials ordered evacuations for nearly 120,000 residents, and Orlando’s International Airport halted operations. Counties in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and almost two dozen more have all closed schools.

DeSantis on Wednesday morning warned Floridians to be diligent ahead of the storm and to be prepared to lose power. The storm, he said, is expected to make landfall around 1 a.m. Thursday morning.

“Floridians in the path of the storm should expect to see power outages when you’re having these gusty conditions,” DeSantis said during a video news conference at the state Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. “Just be prepared for that.”

The state Division of Emergency Management has summoned 600 members of the Florida National Guard, 16,000 electric-utility crews and seven urban search and rescue teams ahead of Nicole making landfall.

DeSantis said a total of 17 school districts have either closed or plan to dismiss students early on Wednesday ahead of the storm, and a total of 23 school districts will be closed Thursday.

Nicole is also a wide-reaching storm that will bring hurricane conditions to most of Florida. State Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie said residents in the path of the storm only have a few hours to prepare.

“I urge Floridians statewide to stay indoors in a safe structure, and away from the coastline,” Guthrie said. “The next few hours are your last chance to bring in potential damaging items before Nicole makes landfall.”

The National Hurricane Center early Wednesday morning stated that hurricane conditions are expected across parts of Florida’s southeast and east-central coast by Wednesday night and issued a hurricane warning for those regions. The center also warned of dangerous storm surges along Florida’s east coast and parts of Georgia.

While potentially dangerous, hurricane Nicole is not expected to be as powerful as Hurricane Ian, which slammed into Florida’s west coast in late September as a Category 4 hurricane. That hurricane initially left more than 2 million without power and caused catastrophic damage along some coastal areas, including in Lee County where the storm made landfall.

At least 125 people were killed by Hurricane Ian, many by drowning.

Florida Power & Light Co. CEO and Chair Eric Silagy said Wednesday morning the utility could not predict the number of customers who will lose power. But he said he expects trees to fall into power lines because the soil is saturated in South Florida and tree roots were left weakened by Hurricane Ian.

"We are hoping for the best but we are prepared for the worst," Silagy said. "That's why we have brought in the crews. We have our plan in place and we will execute on that plan."

On Wednesday, there were more than 14,000 homes and businesses in Florida without power, with more than two-thirds of those in Broward and Palm Beach Counties, according to the Public Service Commission. Silagy said FPL had 13,000 workers on hand and was working to restore power to customers affected by outer rain bands from Tropical Storm Nicole.

U. S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman James Yocum said the storm does not pose a risk to the strengthened Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee. Communities around the lake were evacuated during Hurricane Irma in 2017 because of the threat to the flood control dike.

But the agency said with the lake at nearly 16 feet above sea level there may need to be discharges to lower the lake and protect dike. Those discharges in the past have been blamed for algae that has forced the closure of beaches and killed sea life.

South Florida Water Management District Executive Director Drew Bartlett said district recreation lands north of Broward County on Wednesday were being closed to the public and waterway locks in the Kissimmee chain of lakes were being closed in advance of the storm for boater safety.