FORT LAUDERDALE BEACH, Fla. – As Hurricane Nicole approached Florida, rain storms and the high tide flooded parts of State Road A1A on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale Beach.
Police officers closed the road from Northeast Ninth Street to Vistamar Street, just south of the Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, and feet away from the beach.
On the beach, the conditions worsened hour by hour. There was a lifeguard on duty who displayed red flags on Wednesday morning and cut his day short to close the beach because of the wind gusts and surf.
Amid the stormy weather, the next high tides in Fort Lauderdale are at about 8:45 p.m., Wednesday, and 9:20 a.m., on Thursday, according to Tideschart.
As of 6 p.m., the hurricane had made landfall on Grand Bahama, according to the National Hurricane Center. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s hurricane hunter aircraft experts estimated the hurricane’s maximum winds were 75 mph with higher gusts.
A hurricane warning was in effect from Hallandale Beach to Boca Raton as Hurricane Nicole was expected to move onshore on the east coast of Florida on Wednesday night. The forecast track anticipates a turn toward the northwest on Thursday and north or north-northeast on Friday.
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Torres contributed to this report from Miami.