The Florida Department of Public Works and Emergency Services explains the flood-damaged North Port area during Nicole’s Friday night storm on 4 July 2004
A Hurricane warning is in place from the Georgia- South Carolina state line to Cape Fear, North Carolina. It is possible for parts of South Carolina to be flooded from storm surge up to 7 feet and up to 12 inches of rain.
As Nicole threatens the Carolinas and Virginia on Friday with tornadoes and flooding, Floridians are picking up the pieces after the storm killed at least four people and ripped apart buildings with its dangerous storm surge and powerful winds.
Hundreds of rescues have been completed by land, air and sea, with residents stuck in their homes or stranded on rooftops, and even though there are still many people missing, they are doing well in the Fort Myers and Naples areas.
And now, the storm’s aftermath poses new, deadly dangers of its own. Some standing water is electrified, officials warned, while maneuvering through debris-strewn buildings and streets – many without working traffic signals – risks injury. Lack of air conditioning can lead to heat illness, and improper generator use can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
In North Port between Fort Myers and Sarasota, Rosanna Walker stood Thursday in the flood-damaged home where she rode out the storm. Part of her drywall ceiling was hanging down.
“And all of a sudden, the water was coming in through the doors – the top, the bottom, the windows over here,” she told CNN’s John Berman. “It’s all in my closets; I’ve got to empty out my closets.”
After Nicole passed through, streets were left flooded, roads and homes were damaged, and thousands were without power. There were more than 300,000 customers affected by the outages, in Florida. The number had dropped to more than 50,000 by Friday morning.
At least two rivers in Florida hit all-time flood records, while historic flooding took place across the state. Some areas in the city had dangerous flooding that exceeded a foot.
The Sanibel and Captiva islands in southwest Florida are completely isolated from the rest of the mainland after parts of a causeway were torn away. Local officials said at least two people were killed in the storm and the bridge may need to be completely rebuilt. One of the roads that was used to transport people to the mainland bridge has been washed out, and another bridge nearby has also collapsed, according to a Matlacha resident.
Florida Governor Scott McMaster III: Tropical Storm Warnings and Hurricane Warning Warnings for the Thursday, May 8th, 2017 Track-of-Nicole
McMaster, of South Carolina, implored residents not to underestimate the storm’s danger and urged them to follow storm warnings closely to prepare for impact on Friday.
The agency stated that the storm could cause flooding behind the dunes and also push sand back inland, which could reduce the height of protective sand dunes and leave areas behind the dunes more vulnerable to future storms.
“Conditions may deteriorate as early as Tuesday and persist into Thursday night/Friday morning,” the National Weather Service in Miami said. “Impacts to South Florida may include rip currents, coastal flooding, dangerous surf/marine conditions, flooding rainfall, strong sustained winds, and waterspouts/tornadoes.”
According to the National Hurricane Center, it is not appropriate to focus on the track of Nicole since it is a large storm with multiple hazard areas surrounding the center and outside the cone.
There are watches in effect for the US territories of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, and tropical storm watches for the northwest Bahamas.
As the system forms, it will possibly churn toward Florida and the Southeast US through early this week, according to CNN Meteorologist Robert Shackelford.
As of early Tuesday, more than 8 million people were under hurricane watches in Florida, Shackelford said. He said the storm is going to make its way to West Palm Beach.
On Tuesday, which is Election Day, much of the Florida Peninsula can expect breezy to gusty conditions. The chances of rain are expected to increase throughout the day for both the central and eastern parts of the state.
Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has extended a state of emergency to all counties “simply because we’re not sure of the extent of the impacts, in Northwest Florida in particular,” he said Thursday morning.
The goal is to “identify potential resource gaps and to implement plans that will allow the state to respond quickly and efficiently ahead of the potential strengthening” of the storm system, said the release.
And although the exact forecast for the upcoming storm is still unclear, forecasters said confidence has increased that the storm system could develop into a tropical or subtropical depression within the next two days.
There is a hurricane watch in effect along the east coast of Florida from the Volusia/Brevard county line to Hallandale Beach.
The storm is most likely to reach Florida as “a top-end tropical storm or a bottom-end hurricane,” the NHC’s Jamie Rhome said in a video forecast Monday.
The storm surge will cause a lot of damage. Residents in the warning area should listen to advice given by local officials,” the hurricane center said.
Impactful in the sense it’s projected to be a strong tropical storm or a Category 1 hurricane by the time it reaches Florida by Wednesday evening into Thursday morning, Rhome said.
“Residents and visitors should monitor the forecast and make sure their storm kit is up-to-date,” Levine Cava said in a social media post. We are taking all necessary precautions to protect us from flooding and power outages.
George Recktenwald said in a news conference that the structural damage along the coastline was unprecedented.
Nicole Florence arrives Friday morning with a tornado watch in Norfolk, N.C., the first day of the March 9.6 p.m. storm
A tornado watch is in effect for portions of central and eastern North Carolina, northeastern South Carolina and central and eastern Virginia until 3 p.m. Friday as the storm makes its way north, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
Ian-battered coastal buildings were further compromised by coastal erosion as the storm approached, prompting deputies to go door to door Wednesday evacuating residents from structurally unsound buildings in Volusia County ahead of Nicole’s arrival.
Resident Trip Valigorsky unlocked the front door to his home to see a gaping hole leading to crashing ocean waves where his living room once stood. Pointing to where the television and sofa used to be, he told CNN affiliate WKMG he was in shock.
After watching the wall get deteriorated, Valigorsky began to flee and the wall was completely gone by Wednesday morning. “And now here we are.”
The storm surge peaked at around 6 feet Thursday morning, sending the ocean water to the streets, and pushing the city onto top of a full moon.
“The devastation is almost impossible to comprehend – Imagine watching your home collapse into the ocean,” Volusia County sheriff Mike Chitwood tweeted.
Schools and universities, airports, and coastal residents were ordered to leave as the storm approached.
Downed power lines in flooded streets are among a multitude of hazards residents must maneuver in the hurricane’s wake as they return to their homes, and crews work to clear debris from roadways and conduct emergency repairs to washed out roads.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/11/us/hurricane-nicole-florida-friday/index.html
The Associated Carolina Hurricane System. CNN’s Nicole Van Dam, MS, a Tropical Cyclone, and the Confrontation with the North
According to Gene Norman of CNN, Nicole weakened to a depression on Thursday and likely will become a post-tropical cyclone on Friday.
Making its way through southwestern Georgia early Friday, it is expected to cross the western Carolinas later in the day, according to the National Hurricane Center.
According to CNN’s Van Dam, up to 4 inches of rain are likely in cities including Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse.
According to Van Dam, the tropical rain will be absorbed by a seperate cold front that will deliver a big storm across the northern plains Friday through Saturday.
Traveling along I-95 will be difficult due to heavy rain and high winds. Many east coast airports will likely have disrupted airline travel as the storm moves through.