Subtropical Storm Nicole is strengthening on Tuesday as it pushes west toward Florida, where it could make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.
According to the 7 a.m. advisory from the NHC, Nicole is located 385 miles east-northeast of the Bahamas and has maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour, moving west-northwest at 8 miles per hour.
All of Palm Beach County, the Treasure Coast, and Lake Okeechobee are under a hurricane watch — meaning hurricane conditions are possible in the next 48 hours — along with a tropical storm warning.
The NHC said Nicole will approach the northwestern Bahamas on Tuesday, move near or over those islands on Wednesday, and approach the east coast of Florida Wednesday night.
Nicole will then move across central and northern Florida and into southern Georgia on Thursday.
The system is expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall on the east coast of Florida late Wednesday or overnight Thursday.
On Wednesday, numerous showers and storms are expected across the area as the outer rain bands from Nicole start to move in. Within some of those rain squalls, we could see isolated tornadoes, strong wind gusts, and heavy downpours.
Tropical storm winds in excess of 40 miles per hour are possible as early as Wednesday morning.
Wednesday night into Thursday morning, Nicole is expected to move onshore as a Category 1 hurricane packing maximum sustained winds around 75 miles per hour.