Subtropical Storm Nicole is expected to strengthen near or at hurricane intensity by Wednesday (November 9) as it approaches Florida this week, according to the National Hurricane Center via NBC News.
Florida -- which is just weeks removed from the devastating Hurricane Ian making landfall -- was under a hurricane watch Monday (November 7) night as the storm continued to make its way through the Bahamas.
The National Hurricane Center confirmed the storm was spotted about 415 miles east-northeast of the northwestern Bahamas at 10:00 pm. Monday and moving northwest at 8 MPH with winds sustained at 45 MPH, NBC News reports.
The organization categorizes a subtropical storm as a cyclone with maximum sustained surface wind at 39 MPH or higher.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for the 34 counties expected to be affected by the storm on Monday, which includes Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Orange and Sarasota counties.
“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 via NBC News. “We will continue to monitor the trajectory and strength of this storm as it moves towards Florida.”
Hurricane Ian made landfall on September 28 near Cayo Costa as a Category 4 hurricane with winds reaching up to 150 MPH, making it one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded in Florida, according to NBC News forecasters.
At least 127 people in Florida died in relation to Hurricane Ian, according to ABC News, making it the deadliest storm to hit the state since 1935.
Ian was downgraded to a tropical storm on September 29 before strengthening back into a hurricane prior to making landfall in South Carolina on September 30.
President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Florida after Ian made landfall on September 28 and ordered federal aid to help in state and local recovery efforts in areas directly affected, the White House confirmed in a statement obtained by NBC News.