TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a State of Emergency for 34 Florida counties Monday as the state prepares for potential impacts from Subtropical Storm Nicole this week. The latest update from the National Hurricane Center said the storm will approach the Florida coast as a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday.
The order was issued out of an abundance of caution to allow communities to prepare and families and businesses to create a plan and gather necessary resources ahead of the storm.
TRACKING NICOLE
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- FOX 35 Storm Team Center: Daily weather forecast, hour-by-hour forecast
"While this storm does not, at this time, appear that it will become much stronger, I urge all Floridians to be prepared and to listen to announcements from local emergency management officials," DeSantis said in a statement. "We will continue to monitor the trajectory and strength of this storm as it moves towards Florida."
The counties under the State of Emergency include:
- Brevard
- Broward
- Charlotte
- Citrus
- Clay
- Collier
- DeSoto
- Duval
- Flagler
- Glades
- Hardee
- Hendry
- Highlands
- Hillsborough
- Indian River
- Lake
- Lee
- Manatee
- Martin
- Miami-Dade
- Nassau
- Okeechobee
- Orange
- Osceola
- Palm Beach
- Pasco
- Polk
- Putnam
- Sarasota
- Seminole
- St. Johns
- St. Lucie
- Sumter
- Volusia
The FOX 35 Storm Team said local impacts could include strong winds, heavy rain, beach erosion, a Coastal Flood Watch, and the potential for power outages.
The storm is expected to exit the Central Florida area by Friday.