Thursday updates: Tropical Storm Nicole soaks Tampa Bay on way to north Florida
The live updates for Thursday have concluded. You can read the latest news about Nicole’s lingering effects on Friday here.
Tropical Storm Nicole hit Tampa Bay with high winds and heavy rain Thursday, hours after it made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Florida’s east coast.
The storm maxed out with estimated 75 mph winds at the time of landfall around 3 a.m., according to the National Hurricane Center. Nicole quickly weakened to a tropical storm and by mid-morning the center of the storm had made it into the Tampa Bay area, which saw hours of drenching rains, gusty winds and power outages. Tropical storm warnings were lifted late Thursday afternoon for Florida’s west coast south of Aripeka, at the border of Pasco and Hernando counties.
Nicole is the first November hurricane to make landfall along Florida’s east coast in 87 years.
Here’s what to know about the storm today:
7:20 p.m.
As of 7:20 p.m. Thursday, about 5,500 Duke customers remained without power in Pinellas County, while Pasco County had a little more than 300. About 755 remained without power in Tampa Electric’s service area, which includes Hillsborough County and parts of Polk and eastern Pasco counties.
More than 200,000 across the state lost power due to the storm. Read more here.
7:15 p.m.
The latest National Hurricane Center advisory shows a weakened storm about 40 miles southeast of Tallahassee, bringing heavy rains to Northern Florida and Southern Georgia and winds of about 40 mph.
Storm surge warnings remain in place for the Flagler/Volusia county line to Altamaha Sound, Georgia, the mouth of St. John’s River to Georgetown in Putnam County, Florida and the Anclote River to the Ochlockonee River.
—Divya Kumar, Times Staff Writer
6:35 p.m.
NASA is assessing damage to Artemis I, the first moon rocket in NASA’s Artemis program scheduled to launch next week, according to a report from SPACE.com. The rocket, which remained on the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, was built to sustain winds of up to 85 mph, according to this report. The storm made landfall with winds of 75 mph south of Vero Beach, which is about 60 miles south of Cape Canaveral.
—Divya Kumar, Times Staff Writer
5:15 p.m.
At the St. Petersburg pier, a boat is partially submerged and leaking. The area saw high winds.
—Max Chesnes, Times Staff Writer
5:05 p.m.
As of 5 p.m. Thursday, about 5,000 Duke customers remained without power in Pinellas County, while Pasco County had less than 1,000. A little more than 6,000 remained without power in Tampa Electric’s service area, which includes Hillsborough County and parts of Polk and eastern Pasco counties.
More than 200,000 across the state lost power due to the storm. Read more here.
—Dan Sullivan, Times Staff Writer
4:53 p.m.
Tampa International Airport remained open through the storm. How? With help from Miami.
After the Federal Aviation Administration closed Tampa’s air traffic control tower on Wednesday evening, the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center assumed the Tampa tower’s airspace, per FAA standard protocols, until they could reopen Thursday morning.
Calls to replace the tower have long preceded the storm. Read more here.
—Olivia George, Times Staff Writer
4:05 p.m.
According to the National Hurricane Center’s latest advisory, tropical storm warnings have been discontinued for the east coast of Florida south of the Flagler/Volusia county line and on the west coast south of Aripeka, at the border of Pasco and Hernando counties. Tropical storm warnings have also been discontinued along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, north of Altamaha Sound.
Tropical storm warnings remain in effect on the east coast from the Flagler/Volusia county line to Altamaha Sound, Georgia and on the west coast from Aripeka to Indian Pass in Gulf County, Florida.
Storm surge warnings remain in effect for:
Flagler/Volusia county line to Altamaha Sound, Georgia
Mouth of St. John’s River to Georgetown in Putnam County, Florida
Anclote River to Ochlockonee River, including in Pasco County
—Divya Kumar, Times Staff Writer
3:51 p.m.
The Sunshine Skyway bridge has been re-opened, Florida Highway Patrol announced. The bridge had been closed since around 6:45 a.m., when winds reached 50 mph.
—Matt Cohen, Times Staff Writer
3:20 p.m.
Winds from the storm have sand flying, looking like snow on Clearwater Beach, according to footage shared by the Clearwater Police Department on Twitter.
—Bernadette Berdychowski, Times Staff Writer
2:31 p.m.
Pinellas County joins Hillsborough in closing down its public emergency shelters this afternoon.
The county announced in a tweet it had closed both of its storm shelters, which include the locations at Ross Norton Recreation Center and the Lealman Exchange Community Center.
The shelter at Lealman took in residents who depended on electricity or required medical assistance, like oxygen, in need of routine care. It was also the pet-friendly shelter, according to the county. The shelters took in 80 residents and one pet.
—Max Chesnes and Matt Cohen, Times Staff Writers
2:20 p.m.
With Tropical Storm Nicole inflicting little damage in Tampa, city officials announced Thursday afternoon that garbage collection will resume Friday.
The city had suspended pick ups until Monday as the storm gathered strength, but the city reversed course and scheduled Friday pick ups for Thursday’s residential customers.
—Charlie Frago, Times Staff Writer
2:07 p.m.
After taking in 43 people at its emergency shelter, Hillsborough County announced it closed the facility at the Erwin Technical College at noon.
In a news release, the county said it is now assisting evacuees as they return to their homes.
—C.T. Bowen, Times Staff Writer
2:01 p.m.
Some updated power outage numbers here as Tropical Storm Nicole continues to weaken:
As of 1:45 p.m., Duke Energy was reporting about 88,000 customers without power statewide, mostly on the east coast and in central Florida. The numbers had decreased from about mid-day, when they surged close to 100,000.
Pinellas County had about 11,000 Duke customers without power early Thursday afternoon. There were about another 1,000 outages in Pasco County.
Tampa Electric was reporting close to 12,000 customers without power as of 1:45 p.m. That was down from about 20,000 earlier Thursday. The company reported scattered outages in Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk Counties, with large areas without power in South Tampa, and parts of east Hillsborough.
Florida Power & Light, which serves much of South Florida and the state’s east coast, was reporting more than 100,000 outages Thursday morning.
—Dan Sullivan, Times Staff Writer
1:48 p.m.
St. Augustine was hit particularly hard by a surging sea in the midst of Tropical Storm Nicole. Aerial imagery coming from St. Johns County this afternoon shows homes inundated by floodwaters and streets impassable with standing water.
Before the storm, the National Hurricane Center was predicting up to 5 feet of storm surge in that area due to Nicole. This video, posted by meteorologist Reed Timmer, shows the widespread flooding impacting the St. Augustine area.
(Remember if you’re driving today: Just six inches of water can reach the bottom of most vehicles when driving through floodwaters. That can cause stalling and loss of control, according to the National Weather Service.)
—Max Chesnes, Times Staff Writer
1:30 p.m.
An important reminder if you lose power and plan to use a generator: Local health departments are currently reminding the public to always run your generator outside and at least 20 feet from your home.
Carbon monoxide poisoning can be a deadly consequence for misusing a generator, and cases pop up after every major storm in Florida.
For example: The odorless, tasteless gas poisoned 41 people in the first two weeks after Hurricane Ian’s landfall this September, according to data provided by the Florida Department of Health.
—Max Chesnes, Times Staff Writer
1:17 p.m.
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority is resuming service on the Suncoast Beach Trolley, which provides service from Clearwater Beach down to 75th Ave and Gulf Blvd. All other Pinellas County bus routes currently remain open.
—Olivia George, Times Staff Writer
1:02 p.m.
Nicole is continuing to lose strength as the storm moves toward the Gulf of Mexico at about 15 mph, according to a 1 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center.
The storm’s maximum sustained wind speeds have decreased to 45 mph.
To remain a tropical storm, Nicole will have to keep wind speeds above 39 mph. Forecasters anticipate Nicole will move over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico this afternoon and turn back to pass over Florida’s eastern panhandle Thursday night.
—Michaela Mulligan, Times Staff Writer
12:57 p.m.
There’s yet another cancellation because of Tropical Storm Nicole: Hillsborough County is cancelling its Veterans Day ceremony scheduled for Friday.
The county’s Consumer & Veterans Services department and the Veterans Council of Hillsborough County had planned the 58th annual Veterans Day tribute.
The event was scheduled at Veterans Memorial Park & Rear Admiral LeRoy Collins, Jr. Veterans Museum at 3602 U.S. 301 N., Tampa.
In a news release, the county said its staff and the Veterans Council of Hillsborough County hope to reschedule the event at a later date.
—C.T. Bowen, Times Staff Writer
12:47 p.m.
For Tampa, Tropical Storm Nicole has caused minimal damage so far, city officials said during a Thursday news conference.
There had been seven reports of trees down, seven reports of traffic signals down and eight reports of power lines down as of 11:30 a.m. Officials continued to urge residents to stay off the roads — if they can — and to watch out for street flooding and downed power lines.
Flooding is not expected to be a major problem, Mayor Jane Castor said, though it could cause minor issues around high tide this afternoon.
“Things are going well,” Castor said. “Tomorrow is back to business.”
—Sam Ogozalek, Times Staff Writer
12:40 p.m.
What appear to be the first two reported deaths due to Nicole offered a stark reminder of the danger of downed power lines.
Two people in the Orlando neighborhood of Conway were electrocuted Thursday after coming into contact with downed lines, according to the Orlando Sentinel, which cited information from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies and firefighters arrived around 9:30 a.m. at the intersection of Bayview Parkway and Pershing Avenue, where a man was found dead after making contact with the power line after he got out of his car, according to the report. A woman traveling with him was also electrocuted and later died at a hospital.
Authorities advise staying away from downed power lines and assume that any downed lines are live.
12:25 p.m.
The sold out Yung Gravy show scheduled for Thursday night at Jannus Live has been cancelled due to Nicole, the venue announced on social media. Refunds are available at point of purchase
Friday’s show, which is also sold out, is still on.
—Sharon Wynne, Times Staff Writer
12:15 p.m.
Times journalists have been out all morning capturing scenes from around the Tampa Bay area, like this one of 12-year-old Trey Harbord playing in rough surf in Clearwater Beach.
For the full gallery, click here.
12:05 p.m.
Pinellas law enforcement agencies reported a mostly quiet morning as residents sheltered from the storm and stayed off the roads.
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Amanda Sinni said things were “business as usual” and that she was not aware of any calls for water rescues so far.
Ashley Limardo, a spokesperson for the St. Petersburg Police Department, said the agency had received reports of some downed trees and limbs, as well as some accidents at intersections with stop lights that had lost power.
In Clearwater, police spokesperson Rob Shaw said officers had also received some reports of traffic signals that weren’t working as well as downed trees and limbs. He said the agency has also had reports of boats breaking loose from docks. However, he said no injuries, major damage or flooding has been reported so far.
Shaw also urged people to stay away from the water during the storm.
”This is no time to be boating or at the beach,” he said in an email.
Capt. Glen Smith of the Indian Shores Police Department said there is significant water on Gulf Boulevard but other than a call for service at a condo parking structure that suffered wind damage, things have been quiet.
”We are watching the tide,” Smith said in a phone interview.
Treasure Island spokesperson Jason Beisel said the police and fire departments had not seen an increase in emergency calls or any unusual reports.
”Crews continue to monitor conditions and will monitor roadways for standing water and alert motorists if need be,” Beisel said.
—Natalie Weber, Times Staff Writer
11:48 a.m.
Power outages continue along Tropical Storm Nicole’s path as the storm sweeps west.
As of 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Duke Energy was reporting close to 100,000 customers without power statewide, mostly on the east coast and in central Florida. About 15,000 of them were in Pinellas County and about another 2,000 were in Pasco County.
Tampa Electric was reporting close to 20,000 customers without power as of 11:30 a.m. The company reported scattered outages in Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk Counties, with large areas without power in Town N’ Country, South Tampa, Tampa Heights, Brandon and Gibsonton.
Florida Power & Light, which serves much of South Florida and the state’s east coast, was reporting more than 150,000 people without power.
—Dan Sullivan, Times Staff Writer
11:41 a.m.
Times staffers are still out and about this morning documenting Tropical Storm Nicole’s arrival to the Tampa Bay area.
Video clips by Douglas Clifford show a wavy Clearwater Beach, with beachgoers playing in the unusually high waves.
Gusty winds swept through Davis Islands in footage captured by Ivy Ceballo.
Get an updated glimpse of what’s happening around Tampa Bay right now with this video compiled by video producer Aya Diab:
11:35 a.m.
On Florida’s east coast, Tropical Storm Nicole sent its highest storm surges to places that lost their seawalls during Hurricane Ian only weeks before.
In Daytona Beach Shores, rising seas threatened the foundations of at least a dozen high-rise condos and houses. Krista Dowling Goodrich, who manages 130 rental homes in Daytona Beach Shores as director of sales and marketing at Salty Dog Vacations, witnessed the beachfront disappear behind some of the properties as evacuations were under way just ahead of the storm.
She was trying to reach the scene Thursday morning to see how they fared.
”While we were there the whole backyard just started collapsing into the ocean. It went all the way up to the house,” she said. The water also compromised the remaining land between a row of tall condominium buildings nearby, she said.
Read the full story from Florida’s east coast here.
11:25 a.m.
Despite Tropical Storm Nicole moving further west away from Florida’s Atlantic Coast, the ocean is still surging along the eastern coastline. Coastal communities are feeling the brunt of a churning sea as it chips away at homes, roads and infrastructure.
There’s “significant damage” along A1A in Flagler County as coastal erosion continues to be a major issue with this storm, according to a social media post by Flagler County Emergency Management.
—Max Chesnes, Times Staff Writer
11:10 a.m.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis discussed Tropical Storm Nicole’s impacts in a press conference Thursday morning.
“Impacts have been basically what’s been expected,” DeSantis said during the news conference at the state’s emergency operations center in Tallahassee. “You do have downed trees, you have power lines, you have some road washouts, combined winds and storm surge.”
More than 50 counties were under a tropical storm warning Thursday morning, a number that is expected to drop as Nicole moves across the state.
—Lawrence Mower, Times Staff Writer
10:56 a.m.
Thirty-nine people are sheltering at the Hillsborough County shelter at Erwin Technical College, located at 2010 E. Hillsborough Ave., according to Hillsborough County spokesperson José Patiño.
Gusty winds continue to sweep through Hillsborough County, with a recent gust topping 43 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay.
Update at 12:25: The number of people in the shelter has increased to 43, according to the county.
—C.T. Bowen, Times Staff Writer
10:46 a.m.
Tropical Storm Nicole is taking a toll on travel plans.
About 60 flights going in or out of Tampa International Airport are delayed as of Thursday morning and 65 flights have been cancelled, according to airline tracker FlightAware.
—Bernadette Berdychowski, Times Staff Writer
10:39 a.m.
Florida’s east coast is grappling with some serious coastal erosion this morning.
Debris and chunks of wood and concrete are falling into the Atlantic Ocean as high seas from Tropical Storm Nicole clash against land.
At Wilbur-By-the-Sea in Volusia County, homes are being swept out to sea, according to video footage posted to social media by Claire Metz, a WESH news reporter.
(Warning: There is one use of coarse language in this video)
—Max Chesnes, Times Staff Writer
10:27 a.m.
Several street lights are out across St. Petersburg as the brunt of Tropical Storm Nicole enters the area, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department.
Remember: If you arrive at an intersection where the traffic lights are down, you should treat it as a four-way stop.
—Max Chesnes, Times Staff Writer
10:12 a.m.
Tropical Storm Nicole’s center was just 30 miles northeast of Tampa around 10 a.m. Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Nicole is picking up speed, now moving at about 16 mph across the Tampa Bay area toward the Gulf of Mexico. Nicole is starting to weaken, according to forecasters. The storm’s wind speeds have lowered from around 60 mph at 8 a.m. to about 50 mph at 10 a.m.
— Michaela Mulligan, Times Staff Writer
9:55 a.m.
The highest risk for coastal flooding in the Tampa Bay area is coming later tonight, as high tides peak across the region and clash with gusty winds.
For Clearwater Beach, high tide will top out at roughly 1:10 p.m. this afternoon. High tide in Anna Maria will peak at 2:26 p.m., and tides will be at their highest in St. Petersburg at 4:36 p.m.
—Max Chesnes, Times Staff Writer
9:50 a.m.
Three people are currently sheltering at the Mike Fasano Regional Hurricane Shelter in Pasco County as of 9:30 a.m., according to spokesperson Sarah Andeara. There’s currently no major damage or flooding reported at this hour in that area.
—Barbara Behrendt, Times Staff Writer
9:37 a.m.
As of 9 a.m. Thursday, Duke Energy was reporting close to 100,000 customers without power statewide, mostly on the east coast and in central Florida. About 9,000 of them were in Pinellas County and about another 6,000 were in Pasco County.
Tampa Electric was reporting close to 17,000 customers without power as of 9 a.m. Its outages map showed scattered outages in Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk Counties. Large outages appeared in Town N’ Country, Carrollwood, South Tampa, Seffner, Plant City and Ruskin.
—Dan Sullivan, Times Staff Writer
9:20 a.m.
Well this is interesting: In 2004, 43 days after Hurricane Charley made landfall in Southwest Florida, Hurricane Jeanne hit Florida’s east coast.
Sound familiar? Hurricane Ian hit southwest Florida 43 days ago today. Nicole made landfall as a hurricane on the east coast earlier this morning.
Fascinating.
Kudos to WINK News Chief Meteorologist Matt Devitt for pointing that out.
—Max Chesnes, Times Staff Writer
9:03 a.m.
Bah humbug! Tropical Storm Nicole is throwing a wrench in the early holiday fanfare.
Gusty winds from the storm knocked down the Christmas tree at Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs, according to a social media post by Spectrum Bay News 9.
8:35 a.m.
Times photojournalists are out across the Tampa Bay region this morning documenting Tropical Storm Nicole’s impacts.
A turbulent Dunedin Causeway and a gloomy Bayshore Boulevard are among the scenes in this video compiled by the visuals staff, which includes footage from staffers Douglas Clifford, Ivy Ceballo and Martha Asencio-Rhine:
8:20 a.m.
Tampa International Airport is open today, but is expecting delays and cancellations throughout the day because of Tropical Storm Nicole, the airport posted to Twitter Thursday morning.
The airport recorded wind gusts above 50 mph Thursday morning as Nicole churned across the state, according to data from the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay.
— Max Chesnes, Times Staff Writer
7:55 a.m.
Many living along Florida’s east coast are waking up this morning to eroded shorelines and damaged structures.
Aerial images show a portion of a fishing pier in the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea has collapsed from high seas, according to a video shared on social media by WSVN meteorologist Jackson Dill.
— Max Chesnes, Times Staff Writer
7:10 a.m.
Nicole has knocked out power to tens of thousands of people in Florida, including some in the Tampa Bay area. Duke Energy and Teco were reporting combined outages of nearly 20,000 customers in the Tampa Bay area as of early Thursday morning.
As of 6:45 a.m. Thursday, Duke Energy was reporting more than 63,000 customers without power statewide, mostly on the east coast and in central Florida. About 5,000 of them were in Pinellas and Pasco counties.
Teco was reporting about 13,500 customers without power as of 7 a.m. Its outages map showed outages in Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties.
— Chris Tisch, Times Staff
7:00 a.m.
Tropical Storm Nicole is about 30 miles southwest of Orlando and about 55 miles east of Tampa, according to a 7 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center. Nicole has sustained winds of about 60 mph.
— Michaela Mulligan, Times Staff Writer
6:48 a.m.
Troopers have closed the Sunshine Skyway in both directions due to high winds from Tropical Storm Nicole.
The Florida High Patrol announced about 6:45 a.m. Thursday that the Skyway has been closed because winds had reached 50 mph, which is the threshold for closing the bridge.
The other major Tampa Bay area bridges — the Howard Frankland, the Gandy and the Courtney Campbell Causeway — remained open on Thursday morning.
—Tony Marrero, Times Staff
6:05 a.m.
Nicole’s center appeared to be moving into Polk County by about 6 a.m., according to Spectrum Bay News 9 meteorologist Mike Clay.
3:58 a.m.
Nicole was quickly downgraded to a tropical storm within an hour of landfall Thursday morning as it passed over east-central Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center. Still, meteorologists were predicting continued tropical storm conditions along the east coast of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina in the warning areas Thursday.
The hurricane center expects Nicole to continue weakening as it passes across central Florida in the morning hours Thursday. Nicole’s center may pass over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico later in the day Thursday, but forecasters don’t expect it to be long enough for any serious strengthening to occur.
—Max Chesnes, Times Staff Writer
3:00 a.m.
Nicole made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane around 3 a.m. just south of Vero Beach on Florida’s east coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm’s maximum sustained winds at the time of landfall were 75 mph.
With its early-morning landfall, Hurricane Nicole becomes the first November hurricane to make official landfall on Florida’s east coast in 87 years. Nicole is also the second-latest hurricane landfall to the continental United States in recorded weather history. The latest is Hurricane Kate, which made landfall in the Florida Panhandle on Nov. 22, 1985.
—Max Chesnes, Times Staff Writer
Here are some closures to keep in mind today:
• School districts in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties are closed.
• The University of South Florida is transitioning to remote-only classes today.
• Hillsborough county closed parks, libraries and county offices.
• The city of Tampa’s offices will be closed and trash pickup delayed.
• The 13th Judicial Circuit, which covers Hillsborough, closed courts today.
• Tampa International Airport is not closing today but said travelers should check directly with airlines for up to date flight information.
• • •
2022 Tampa Bay Times Hurricane Guide
IT'S STORM SEASON: Get ready and stay informed at tampabay.com/hurricane.
FORECAST: The ‘cone of uncertainty’ can be confusing. Here’s how to read it.
MODELS: How reliable are hurricane models? Hurricane Ian gave us some answers.
EVACUATIONS: Fewer evacuated to shelters during Hurricane Ian. How can Tampa Bay stay safe?
WHAT TO EXPECT IN A SHELTER: What to bring — and not bring — plus information on pets, keeping it civil and more.
WHAT TO DO IF HURRICANE DAMAGES YOUR HOME: Stay calm, then call your insurance company.
PREPARING FOR A HURRICANE: Make a plan, listen to experts, and know there’s help available if you need it.
DOUBLE-CHECK: Checklists for building all kinds of hurricane kits
PHONE IT IN: Use your smartphone to protect your data, documents and photos.
SELF-CARE: Protect your mental health during a hurricane.
• • •
Rising Threat: A special report on flood risk and climate change
PART 2: Even weak hurricanes can cause huge storm surges. Experts say people don't understand the risk.
PART 3: Tampa Bay has huge flood risk. What should we do about it?
INTERACTIVE MAP: Search your Tampa Bay neighborhood to see the hurricane flood risk.
