'Nicole is bigger': Sustained winds and flooding a concern in Polk County

As Tropical Storm Nicole's winds are anticipated to reach Polk County as early as Wednesday afternoon, the storm is expected to gradually increase in strength and linger through Friday.

Meanwhile, Nicole is expected to made landfall on the east coast of Florida Wednesday night as a possible Category 1 hurricane, according to the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center. The center of the storm is expected to sweep west across Central Florida.

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But Polk residents shouldn't be focused on the "cone of uncertainty," said to meteorologist Austen Flannery, of the National Weather Service's Tampa Bay office. Flannery said Nicole's wind impacts can be measured more than 400 miles from the center.

"Ian was by no means a small storm," he said. "Nicole is bigger."

Nicole started out as a hybrid storm system over the Atlantic, Flannery said, and its formation was impacted by other weather systems. With a high-pressure system to the north and a separate storm system over the continental United States, Flannery said Nicole has started to transition from a subtropical to tropical storm.

"The difference between subtropical and tropical storms is the extent of impact is often a much larger area," he said. "Nicole has undergone a transition, we haven't seen the wind field contract yet."

Polk residents are advised to brace for a period of sustained tropical storm for winds, with higher wind gusts around 60 mph. The storm has the potential to drop heavy rain with southern areas of the county to the tune of three to four inches over the next few days with higher amounts in select areas, according to Flannery. A flood watch has also been issued for the area.

"We will be watching carefully to see if multiple rounds of rain go over the areas feeding into the Peace River," Flannery said.

Previously: Subtropical Storm Nicole raises concerns of flooding in Polk County

There was localized flooding post Ian along the Peace River, particularly in Bartow and Fort Meade. The river stood at 8.19 feet, or flood stage, prior to hurricane's arrival.

A period of relatively drier weather has lowered the river to just over seven feet as of Wednesday morning. Flannery said the storm's current forecast predicts it cresting at 7-feet, 9-inches during Nicole, significantly lower than Ian.

"As a reminder, people should never drive through flooded roads," Flannery said. "If you can’t see road it can be washed away."

Storm preparations in Polk

Polk County opened its sandbag sites Wednesday through 5 p.m. in preparation for Nicole's arrival. A maximum of 10 sandbags will be provided to each household. To do so, the county had to pull staff off hurricane debris removal on Tuesday.

Resident are encouraged to check to make sure any uncollected debris from Hurricane Ian, or smaller twigs, leaves and branches left behind after the first pass, are not left in the roadway. This waste could potentially jam storm drains if the area receives heavy rain.

As of Wednesday morning, the county does not have any plans to open its shelters. The county offices will be open Thursday, according to Polk spokesman Jeff Foley.

The City of Lakeland is at what they consider a Phase 2, Storm Watch, according to spokesman Kevin Cook. He said the city's storm core team and leadership are closely monitoring Nicole but continue business as usual for now.

Are schools, universities open?

Polk County Public Schools announced all schools and offices will be closed Thursday, with all afterschool activities canceled on Wednesday and Thursday. The schools are scheduled to be closed Friday in observance of Veterans Day, so students will be off until Monday.

Several of the county's private schools, including Lakeland Christian School, The Schools of McKeel Academy and Victory Christian Academy will close on Thursday.

Southeastern University cancelled its in-person classes and student events beginning at 2 p.m. Wednesday through Thursday. Polk State College will remain open until 5 p.m. Wednesday and canceled its classes for Thursday, including online instruction. The college's open house activities will be also rescheduled.

Florida Polytechnic University will be closed Thursday, with residents and dining facilities remaining open for students.

Power outages are expected

Duke Energy announced it has started staging approximately 5,000 workers across Florida ahead of the storm's arrival. The utility has brought in additional crews from Kentucky, Ohio and the Carolinas in additional to mutual aid.

“We anticipate this storm will bring strong winds and heavy rain over many parts of our Florida service territory, including areas still recovering from Hurricane Ian," Todd Fountain, Duke Energy's Florida storm director said in a press statement.

Duke Energy's Outage Map was showing some localized outages in Polk as of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday with pockets near Haines City and Lake Wales. The outage map will be used to provide updates to customers, along with emails, text message and social media posts throughout the storm.

Lakeland Electric is also taking steps to prepare ahead of Nicole's arrival, including requesting mutual aid crews from Tennessee. Catheryn Lacy, LE's spokeswoman, said the municipal-owned utility is expecting widespread outages, though not as many as the roughly 63,000 customers who were without power due to Ian.

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Lakeland Electric is anticipating there will be trees and tree limbs weakened from Hurricane Ian that could come down during the storm, snagging lines and causing the outages.

"We're prepared for a bigger storm impact with outages, hopefully that won't be the case," Lacy said.

Lakeland Electric is encouraging customers to make sure all loose items are secure and put away ahead of Nicole's arrival and to see that generators are working properly. Lacy said generators should be positioned outside the home to reduce the risk of dangerous fumes and should not be plugged into a home's outlets, which can result into a life-threatening backfeed onto powerlines.

Lakeland Electric customers do not need to call in if they experience a loss of power as the utility's new Smart Meters automatically send a notification to the utility.

"We know when customer are out the moment it happens, we had a great test during Hurricane Ian," Lacy said. "We have great confidence in it."

Those who wish to report a power emergency such as a downed power line or a downed tree on a wire can call 863-834-4248.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFl. 

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Hurricane Nicole to batter Polk County with prolonged wind, rain