Subtropical Storm Nicole became the 14th storm of the Atlantic season early Monday morning and is centered several hundred miles east of the Bahamas.
Nicole has prompted hurricane, tropical storm and storm surge alerts as a prolonged period of coastal flooding, beach erosion, strong winds, high surf, rip currents and heavy rain is expected in Florida.
The storm is currently classified as subtropical, meaning it has characteristics of both a tropical and non-tropical storm. Nicole is forecast to transition into a fully tropical storm in the next day or so.
A hurricane warning has been issued for parts of the northwestern Bahamas, including Freeport, Grand Bahama. This means hurricane conditions are expected in the area, in this case by early Wednesday.
A hurricane watch has been issued in eastern Florida from the Space Coast south to Hallandale Beach in Broward County, including Lake Okeechobee.
Tropical storm watches extend south to Miami-Dade County and extend north of the Space Coast into Glynn County, Georgia, including Daytona Beach and St. Simons Island.
Nicole will then curl north near or over Florida before getting picked up by a cold front that turns the storm northeastward over the Southeast states or its adjacent coastal waters late this week.
