NEW YORK – Nicole’s weakened remains reached the New York area later on Friday, a day after the storm landed in Florida as a Category 1 hurricane, the third such system this November in the Atlantic Basin.
The weather is expected to get worse, which could bring gusts of up to 50 mph along the coasts and gusts of up to 45 mph inland along with torrential rain. Diffuse precipitation of 1 to 2 inches is expected, although locally higher amounts of up to 3 inches are possible. Tornadoes are also not out of the question, and neither are flash floods or wind damage.
Nicole was downgraded to a tropical depression Thursday night, but her remains combine with an approaching front on Friday to complicate matters. The combo brings showers to NYC at noon before the rain and winds intensify. Expect torrential downpours sometime Friday through Saturday mornings across the tri-state.
It won’t be continuous until Saturday morning, but when the rain falls, it is likely to be strong at times. Harmful wind gusts are possible throughout the area, particularly from Friday afternoon to Friday night. Places that see those strong winds may also be more likely to see isolated weather conditions. The worst weather arrives early Saturday morning.
The city activated its flash flood emergency plan before the storm hit, requiring multiple agencies to fan out across all five boroughs to inspect (and clean, if necessary) sinkholes in hundreds of flood-prone locations. . Some areas of New Jersey were seen cleaning up similar reservoirs on the Thursday before the storm.
This work is already underway, and all New Yorkers are encouraged to take the same simple debris cleanup step to help prevent flooding. You can also call 311 if you want the city to take care of it.
Once Nicole, and that unrelated front, passes through the three-state area, the cooler air will drop and the highs will struggle to hit 50 degrees from Sunday to next week. It’s November after all, so get those winter coats ready (if they aren’t already).
According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm was expected to dump up to 8 inches of rain over parts of the Florida panhandle as it hit the Ian-ravaged state with dangerous waves and storm surges, along with intense rain and wind. The NHC downgraded Nicole to a tropical storm early Thursday, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. The stronger winds had eased further on Thursday night.
The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1st and ends on November 30th.
