Tropical Storm Nicole’s bark turned out to be much worse than its bite, although the storm did leave some hefty rain totals in parts of coastal Palm Beach County.
Nicole, as it turns out, was short-lived. At the 5 p.m. advisory, the National Hurricane Center said the center of Nicole, “which was never very well defined, has become un-trackable.”
Forecasters said no further advisories would be issued on the system.
It was a tropical storm for only six hours. And just as the NHC found winds high enough in Tropical Depression 16 to make it the 14th named storm of the 2010 season at 11 a.m. Wednesday, a slight shift in track moved most of the wettest and windiest weather off to the east, in the Bahamas.
Later Wednesday, South Florida Water Management District graphical analysis showed that rainfall had been heaviest over downtown West Palm Beach and Palm Beach, with more than inch total from 7 a.m. Much lighter amounts fell to the west.
From 8 p.m. Tuesday night through 3 p.m. Wednesday, a little under 3 inches of rain fell at Palm Beach International Airport. That’s not bad considering that the National Weather Service said up to 6 inches was possible, although we won’t have official totals until Thursday.
Only minor flooding was reported around Palm Beach County.
The heaviest rain fell in extreme southeastern Miami-Dade, which picked up more than 4 inches on Wednesday alone. And there were areas in the middle and northern Keys that picked up more than 3 inches.
Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean were hammered by Nicole, although the center remained to the west of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
With Nicole moving out into the Atlantic and up the East Coast – the storm was expected to become extra-tropical by Thursday – dry air was forecast to work its way into South Florida. The forecast for Thursday was for a high near 90 under mostly sunny skies.
We should have slightly cooler weather for the weekend with highs in the mid-80s and lows in the lower 70s. The long-term forecast through the middle of October is for more seasonal weather with highs in the middle 80s and lows in the low 70s.