Hurricane warnings have been issued for Florida's Atlantic coast as Tropical Storm Nicole is gaining strength and expected to make landfall late tonight as a category 1 hurricane somewhere between Melbourne and West Palm Beach.
Residents are being urged to prepare for a hazardous storm surge, which may cause widespread flooding, as well as dangerous winds which could knock out power and down trees. Some flooding has already been reported along the coast ahead of Nicole's arrival. Orlando International Airport announced it will cease operations this afternoon at 4 p.m. until it is deemed safe to resume. Also, Disney World has begun closing some outdoor resort attractions and is closely monitoring the storm to determine whether all theme parks will be closed. Universal Orlando also said it is closely watching the storm. Both were closed during Hurricane Ian.
After it makes landfall late tonight or early tomorrow morning, Nicole will curl north over Florida before heading over the Southeast states and continuing toward the Northeast. (Yahoo)