What's the Pensacola area forecast for Subtropical Storm Nicole?

Forecasters project a new storm that may form into a tropical storm has the chance to move over central Florida and the Panhandle.

Meteorologists are tracking Subtropical Storm Nicole, which formed overnight near the Bahamas, possibly hitting the southeast tip of Florida and moving upward toward Tallahassee.

Morgan Barry, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama, told the News Journal on Monday morning that Nicole will likely be a tropical storm when it hits Florida, but it will move away from the Panhandle.

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"It will eventually turn to the northeast, it's just a matter of when that turn to the northeast is," Barry said. "We have a cold front that's coming down later in the week, and that's going to help it steer (Nicole) to the northeast."

Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are currently outside of the cone, according to Barry, and if current projections remain, both counties may not see any rainfall from the storm.

"So, even if (Nicole) comes into the Gulf, at this point the worst we're looking at for our particular area is some gusty winds throughout the week probably starting on Wednesday," Barry said. "Rain should be well to our east. Any sort of surge issues or anything like that should be well to our east."

That's good news for the Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show on Friday and Saturday. As of this time, there are no indications the show will be impacted.

Davis Wood, Escambia County public information and education officer, told the News Journal that while Nicole will likely not affect the area, it is important for residents to remain prepared until the end of hurricane season on Nov. 30.

"We will be keeping an eye on the storm in case there are any changes, and we'll be prepared to activate anything that we need to activate," Wood said. "This is a reminder that we're not out of storm season just yet ... because between now and (Nov. 30) a lot can happen."

Wood said he recommends to have hurricane supplies ready "just in case" and be ready until the end of storm season.

Benjamin Johnson can be reached at bjohnson@pnj.com or 850-435-8578

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Tropical Storm Nicole may not hit Escambia, Santa Rosa