Hurricane Nicole likely to make Treasure Coast landfall in next couple of hours

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Hurricane Nicole is bringing whipping winds, heavy downpours and dangerous storm surge to Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast early Thursday morning.

The storm will likely make landfall along the northern Treasure Coast within the next couple of hours, the National Hurricane Center said.

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According to the 1 a.m. advisory from the NHC, Nicole is packing 75 mph winds with higher gusts.

Strong winds and heavy rain continue to spread across portions of the east coast of Florida and the northwestern Bahamas as Hurricane Nicole takes aim at the Sunshine State.

“This is a storm that lost a lot of its energy when very dry air wrapped around the center,” WPTV First Alert Weather chief meteorologist Steve Weagle said. “That happened in the last six hours and lost a lot of punch.”

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IMAGES: Tropical Storm Nicole’s impacts in South Florida

A hurricane warning remains in effect for Boca Raton north to the Flagler-Volusia County line as Nicole pushes west toward Florida. The hurricane warning also includes all of Palm Beach County east of U.S. 441.

The storm is located 30 miles east-southeast of Fort Pierce and is moving west-northwest at 14 mph.

The wind direction will generally be from the north late Wednesday night but will come from the west overnight as the storm comes onshore.

Officials in Indian River County closed the bridges to the barrier islands just after midnight because they determined they were impassible by non-emergency traffic.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward 25 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 485 miles from the center, especially to the north of the center.

A weather station near Stuart Beach recorded a wind gust of 62 mph, while a station at the Juno Beach Pier reported a wind gust of 55 mph. A station at the Sebastian Inlet reported a gust of 48 mph.

The hurricane made landfall on Grand Bahama Island at about 6 p.m., according to the National Hurricane Center.

Tropical storm conditions will likely occur through the night through 6 a.m. Thursday with 45-65 mph wind gusts and 1-3 inches of rain. During this same time frame, residents on the Treasure Coast will experience 50-75 mph wind gusts and 2-4 inches of rain.

From 6 a.m. to noon, we can expect conditions to improve, but 30-50 mph wind gusts will still be possible in Palm Beach County. An additional 1-2 inches of rain could occur during this time. The Treasure Coast could still see 45-65 winds gusts with 1-2 inches of rain.

Nicole is expected to weaken while moving across Florida and the southeastern U.S. Thursday through Friday, and it is likely to become a post-tropical cyclone by Friday afternoon.

A hurricane warning is in effect for:

• The Abacos, Berry Islands, Bimini, and Grand Bahama Island in the northwestern Bahamas
• Boca Raton to Flagler/Volusia County line

A hurricane watch is in effect for:

A tropical storm warning is in effect for:

• Bimini in the northwestern Bahamas
• Hallandale Beach to Boca Raton
• Flagler/Volusia County line to South Santee River South Carolina
• North of Bonita Beach to Indian Pass
• Lake Okeechobee

A storm surge warning is in effect for:

• North Palm Beach to Altamaha Sound, Georgia
• Mouth of the St. Johns River to Georgetown
• Anclote River, Florida to Ochlockonee River, Florida

A storm surge watch is in effect for:

• Ochlockonee River to Indian Pass
• South of North Palm Beach to Hallandale Beach
• Altamaha Sound, Georgia to South Santee River, South Carolina