A weakening Tropical Depression Nicole threatens Southeast with heavy rain, tornadoes
Tropical Depression Nicole was moving north into Georgia on Friday, a day after hitting Florida as a Category 1 hurricane where it caused havoc and knocked out power to homes and businesses.
The storm, which made landfall at 3 a.m. Thursday south of Vero Beach — about 81 miles north of West Palm Beach — left at least three people dead.
Two people in the Orlando area died after being electrocuted when they touched downed power lines, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said. A 68-year-old man in Cocoa, Florida, also died after waves slammed his yacht against a dock, police said. And two deaths in a car crash along Florida's Turnpike were also likely related to the storm, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said.
The storm could still dump between 6 and 8 inches of rain over the Blue Ridge Mountains by Friday, the National Hurricane Center said. Flash and urban flooding will be possible as the rain spreads into the eastern Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic and New England through Saturday.
Meanwhile, about 35,000 homes and businesses were still without power in Florida as of Friday morning, according to utility tracker Poweroutage.us.
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Where is Tropical Depression Nicole?
It weakened to a tropical depression late Thursday near the Florida-Georgia border, according to the National Hurricane Center. Here's the final update from the NHC as of 10 a.m. Friday:
- Location: 35 miles north of Atlanta
- Maximum wind speed: 30 mph
- Direction: north-northeast at 23 mph
On the forecast track, the center of Nicole will move across central and northern Georgia on Friday morning and over the western Carolinas later today. Nicole is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone later Friday, then dissipate tonight or early Saturday as it merges with a frontal system over the eastern United States.
Rain and potential tornadoes as Nicole moves north
Storm surge: Surge related flooding will continue to recede along portions of Georgia's southern coast and Florida's Gulf and east coasts, including the St. Johns River.
Rain and flooding: Nicole is expected to produce the following rainfall amounts through Saturday:
- Portions of the Southeast, southern and central Appalachians, central and eastern portions of Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio: 2 to 4 inches with localized amounts of 6 to 8 inches along the Blue Ridge.
- Northern Mid-Atlantic into New England: 1 to 3 inches.
- Limited flooding will be possible across portions of the Appalachians, upper Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic, and New England through Saturday.
Tornadoes: A few tornadoes are possible this morning over eastern South Carolina and southern North Carolina. The National Weather Service issued several tornado watches and warnings Friday morning for parts of the Carolinas and Virginia. The threat will continue shifting north across central and eastern North Carolina into southern and eastern Virginia through Friday.
Deadly Nicole topples coastal homes
About 49 miles northeast of Orlando, Nicole’s wrath contributed to the collapse of several coastal homes in the areas of Wilbur-by-the-Sea and Daytona Beach, according to Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood.
The sight of about seven damaged houses along coastal Highway A1A brought Krista Dowling Goodrich to tears. Goodrich, who manages 130 area rental homes, witnessed the “overwhelming” aftermath of backyards collapsing into the Atlantic Ocean shortly before the storm’s arrival.
“Half of the house is gone,” Goodrich said, referring to a house that was now missing two bedrooms and much of its living room. Decorations spelling out "Blessed" and "Grateful" were hanging on a partially collapsed wall. “These are hard-working people who got to this point in their lives, and now they lose it all.”
Volusia County Manager George Recktenwald said the destruction was unprecedented. "We’ve never experienced anything like this before,” he said.
County officials declared 24 hotels and condos in Daytona Beach Shores and New Smyrna Beach unsafe and ordered evacuations. Officials said it wasn’t clear when people could return to them.
Condo security footage in Daytona Beach Shores captured Nicole-triggered storm surge washing away a temporarily rebuilt seawall destroyed by Hurricane Ian in September.
"The problem is that we have no more beach," said Connie Hale Gellner, whose family owns a unit at the Marbella condominiums. "Even if we wanted to rebuild, they’ll probably condemn the building because the water is just splashing up against the building.”
Nicole leaves historic homes waterlogged
As the tropical storm approached Florida’s Treasure Coast on Wednesday, Terry L. Howard stayed up until midnight worrying about the two historic homes he owns on the southeast corner of Indian River Drive and Chamberlin Boulevard. The homes were built in the late 1920s.
“The water was all in front of our house,” Howard said. “Our house was part of the river last night.”
About 15 homes were flooded with 3 to 5 feet of standing water Thursday, according to St. Lucie County spokesperson Erick Gill. The rising water crept closer to houses with every high tide combined with storm surge. Read more here.
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Contributing: Laurie K. Blandford, Treasure Coast Newspapers; The Associated Press
