Tropical Storm Nicole will head toward Middle GA after hitting Florida. What to expect

Tropical Storm Nicole will likely bring several inches of rain and strong wind gusts to Middle Georgia, beginning this afternoon.

Katie Martin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Peachtree City office, said that Middle Georgia could feel Nicole’s effects today and Friday.

The wind may come first, according to NWS’s Wednesday afternoon forecast.

“The first main impact will be windy to gusty conditions, there’s a wind advisory that actually [started Wednesday] and goes through the day Friday,” Martin said Wednesday. “As far as wind speeds in the Macon general area, we’d be looking at sustained winds between 15 and 20 mph, while occasional gusts could be 30 to 40 mph.”

While the winds could be an issue, rainfall may be of bigger concern in the area.

“For the period of Thursday morning into the evening Friday, rainfall totals could be around 1.5 inches to 2.5 inches in Macon. The heavy rain can lend itself to power down, trees down, things like that with the wind,” Martin said.

Nicole made landfall in Florida as a rare November hurricane after hitting the Bahamas Wednesday, then was downgraded as wind speeds slowed.

Florida saw the effects of the storm Wednesday before landfall, with rain and some flooding hitting coastal cities. Martin said south and Coastal Georgia were at higher risk than Macon, particularly concerning the possibility of tornadoes in the area.

As far as Nicole’s track goes, it looks like Macon is locked in for rain and stronger winds.

“I would say we’re closing in on the time it will move on shore, so I wouldn’t expect a lot of variations on the track,” Martin said of Nicole possibly changing directions. “Whether it swings on the left or right side, it will still bring impacts to Central Georgia.”

Nicole comes on the heels of Hurricane Ian in October, which ravaged Florida but missed Middle Georgia thanks to a late change in course. While Nicole hasn’t yet reached the same level of severity, it looks like its impact on Macon will be more significant.

Middle Georgia’s most recent dealings with hurricane fallout include 2018’s Hurricane Michael and 2017’s Hurricane Ian, which both took out power and lots of trees across the area.