Satellite Beach braces for Nicole's 80 mph winds, Cocoa Beach mayor urges storm prep
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With forecasts calling for Tropical Storm Nicole to potentially make landfall in southern Brevard County as a Category 1 hurricane, Space Coast beachside communities are bracing for looming damages.
“We’re expecting up to 80 mph winds now. The storm changed its track to the north this morning,” Satellite Beach City Manager Courtney Barker said during a Tuesday afternoon emergency meeting.
“We’re calling it Ian-plus — with a lot more windy conditions," Barker said, referring to the September storm's impacts along the Space Coast.
"So we’re expecting considerable damage to the beaches, as well as possible infrastructure at the beaches damaged, like our accesses,” she said.
More:'Out of nowhere': Tropical Storm Nicole sends Brevard residents scrambling for sandbags
More:Nicole may bring waves above 10 feet crashing along Space Coast, worsening beach erosion
The Satellite Beach City Council declared a state of emergency during the 4 p.m. meeting. One hour later, the Cocoa Beach City Commission and Cape Canaveral City Council followed suit.
“Well, this thing came up real fast. So now is the time to do your preps,” Cocoa Beach Mayor Ben Malik said of Nicole’s formation.
"Tomorrow, it’s going to start to get bad real quick,” Malik said.
Before Tuesday's beachside emergency meetings began, Brevard County Emergency Management issued a recommended evacuation for barrier-island residents.
The order includes Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island and the county's south beaches near Sebastian Inlet. Also affected are residents in mobile homes or manufactured housing; residents who live in low-lying, flood-prone areas; and residents with special medical needs.
During a Tuesday afternoon video briefing, Brevard County Emergency Management Director John Scott said Nicole may make landfall in southern Brevard County.
Scott said Nicole may bring 4 to 7 inches of rain, with some areas topping 8 inches.
More:See traffic and beach conditions in Brevard area as Nicole nears Florida
More:Schools? Trash service? What's closed, canceled in Brevard due to Nicole
As officials met in the barrier-island cities, Nicole was a large tropical cyclone packing maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, the National Hurricane Center reported in its 4 p.m. advisory.
Nicole was located about 395 miles east of West Palm Beach, and it was tracking west at 10 mph. Tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 380 miles from the storm's center.
Indian Harbour Beach police posted a series of local forecast updates about 5 p.m. Tuesday:
- Nicole may make landfall near Micco/Palm Bay as a Category 1 hurricane.
- Sustained tropical-storm-force winds may reach 55 to 70 mph, packing gusts up to 85 mph.
- Expect 10 to 12 feet waves and storm surge of 3 to 5 feet.
- Tropical-storm-force winds may begin about 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, extending through 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday.
- Tornadoes are possible Thursday.
Tuesday afternoon, the Air Force Reserve 920th Rescue Wing flew its HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters and HC-130J Combat King II planes from Patrick Space Force Base to Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas, Lt. Col. Ian Phillips said.
The Satellite Beach City Council decided to postpone Saturday's Founders Day parade and marketplace to Jan. 14.
“We don’t know what Saturday’s going to look like in this city,” City Council Member Dominick Montanaro said.
Health First officials had no plans to evacuate Cape Canaveral Hospital as of 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, spokesperson Lance Skelly said.
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1