Alert Day Friday as Hurricane Nicole brings storms to Maryland

BALTIMORE -- WJZ's First Alert Weather Team has declared Friday an Alert Day.

 Tropical Storm Nicole was declared a Category 1 Hurricane on Wednesday and its remnants are expected to bring stormes and high winds to Maryland.

It will make landfall on the eastern peninsula of Florida sometime between late Wednesday and early Thursday morning. 

The storm will weaken as it moves across the peninsula through tonight and the panhandle on Thursday. By Friday afternoon, what's left of it will be in southern Virginia, rapidly headed our way. 

The Alert Day remains in place for Friday due to a threat for isolated small, brief tornadoes with storm cells Friday afternoon through Friday night, coastal flooding on the upper portion of the Bay, and wind gusts exceeding 40 mph at times Friday night. 

The storm will exit the area quickly by Saturday morning.

The heaviest rain from this system will occur in Western Maryland, where 2-3" could fall. We will see mainly up to an inch in Central Maryland with a spot or two seeing slightly more. First Alert Meteorologist Derek Beasley is not concerned about a flood threat given the latest track.

Winds will shift out of the west by Saturday morning, but the colder air will hold off until Sunday. Temps will not get out of the 40s on Sunday with a freeze likely Sunday night and again Monday night as colder air filters in. 

It will be the first widespread freeze of the season for the area. More rain is expected for the middle of next week, late Tuesday into early Wednesday.