So soon after Hurricane Ian, many Florida residents are ready to face Tropical Storm Nicole as it heads for the state.
People evacuated vulnerable locations in the northwestern Bahamas as it approached Wednesday. The storm has the potential to strengthen and become a hurricane.
The storm was the first tropical storm expected to make landfall in the Bahamas since Hurricane Dorian hit in 2019.
Early on Wednesday, officials said there were very few people in the two dozen shelters opened for the storm, and residents need to be taking the storm more seriously.
Florida residents in certain areas were ordered to evacuate. These areas included Flagler, Palm Beach and Volusia counties. Those on barrier islands, low lying areas, and in mobile homes have all been asked to evacuate, according to My Twin Tiers.
The Orlando International Airport will be stopping operations Wednesday afternoon until they felt it was safe to resume. Palm Beach International Airport also decided to close.
The Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Phillip Brave Davis, has mobilized all government resources as the storm gets closer.
At 7 a.m. this morning the storm was 240 miles from West Palm Beach, Florida. It’s moving at 13 miles per hours with sustained maximum winds of 70 miles per hour.
Residents in some areas are still cleaning up where Ian hit and caused major flooding and damage.
On Thursday the storm is expected to move across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia.
It will arrive in North and South Carolina on Thursday.
Many schools have canceled for Wednesday and Thursday in Florida.
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