Hurricane Nicole to make Florida landfall Thursday morning
MIAMI - The National Hurricane Center said Nicole would make landfall north of Palm Beach County early Thursday morning.
With the 10 p.m. advisory, Nicole's center was about 75 miles ENE of West Palm Beach. It was moving west-northwest near 13 mph, with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph with higher gusts.
Speaking to CBS chief meteorologist and hurricane specialist Ivan Cabrera Wednesday evening, the acting director of the National Hurricane Center said storm hunters flying in the system have concluded that Nicole has reached hurricane status.
Broward and Miami-Dade counties had been under a flood advisory through 8 p.m. A Tropical Storm Watch for Miami-Dade was canceled.
Several school districts, including Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, canceled classes Wednesday.
Officials with Broward County Public Schools announced that classes would be closed Thursday for a second day in a row because of the storm.
>>>>PHOTOS: Nicole's impacts, effects on Florida
On the forecast track, the center of Nicole will move over the northwestern Bahamas on Wednesday and move onshore on the east coast of Florida within the hurricane warning area. Nicole's center is then expected to move across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia Thursday and Thursday night, and then across the Carolinas Friday and Friday night.
In South Florida, rainbands moved in Wednesday morning and throughout the day we'll see gusty squalls.
Residents in at least three Florida counties - Flagler, Palm Beach, and Volusia - were ordered to evacuate from barrier islands, low-lying areas and mobile homes. The mandatory evacuation order in Palm Beach County affects 52,000 residents of mobile homes and 67,000 residents of barrier islands. Shelters up and down the coast were opened at 7 a.m. Wednesday.
"This incoming storm is a direct threat to both property and life," said Volusia County Manager George Recktenwald. "Our infrastructure, particularly along the coastline, is very vulnerable because of Hurricane Ian."
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport were experiencing some flight delays and cancellations but both planned to remain open on Wednesday. Orlando International Airport, the seventh busiest in the U.S., said commercial operations would stop Wednesday afternoon until it was safe to resume flights.
Walt Disney World Resort theme parks to begin phased closure at 5 p.m. Wednesday and will remain closed through Thursday. Universal Orlando Resort, including CityWalk, will also close at 5 p.m.
Jack Beven, a National Hurricane Center forecaster, said the storm has a "very large cyclonic envelope," meaning that even if it makes landfall along the central Florida coastline, the effects will be felt as far north as Georgia.
NASA announced that because of the storm, next week's planned launch of its much-anticipated moon rocket will be pushed back two days to Nov. 16. The 322-foot rocket will send an empty crew capsule around the moon and back in a dramatic flight test before astronauts climb aboard in a couple of years.
The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and ends Nov. 30.
Since record-keeping began in 1853, Florida has had only two hurricanes make landfall in November, said Maria Torres, a spokesperson for the Hurricane Center. The first was the Yankee Hurricane in 1935, and the second was Hurricane Kate, which struck Florida's Panhandle as a Category 2 storm in 1985.
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