Nicole Slaps Florida, As Expected; Vermont Effects Not Too Bad?

Radar image of the eye of Hurricane Nicole in Vero Beach,
Florida last night. Residents in the eye could look up and
see the moon and stars. 

 The forecasts for now ex-hurricane Nicole were accurate: It slapped ashore near Vero Beach, Florida last night with top sustained winds of 75 mph.

Damage from storm surges was pretty extensive along Florida's east coast, with several reports of buildings falling into the water as beaches eroded under the onslaught of water and waves.

 Sea walls collapsed around Daytona Beach, and a condominium was evacuated for fears it might collapse, the Washington Post reported. 

Donald Trump's Mar A Lago was in the evacuation zone but Trump himself did not leave the estate. There are no reports of serious damage there.

Residents of Vero Beach had a clear view of Nicole's calm eye as it passed through. You could look up and see the moon and stars as the clear, calm air in the eye passed overhead. 

Nicole was only briefly at hurricane strength before it hit shore. As of early this morning, it was back down to a tropical storm with top winds of 60 mph.  Winds should further diminish, but flooding rains should continue in the Southeast, along with the risk of some tornadoes. 

As we noted all week, Nicole will get absorbed by a strong cold front coming in from the west.  It's still expected to send a slug of heavy rain into the Northeast, but there have been some changes.

The cold front is now moving a little more slowly than originally forecast.  The westward trend in the projected path Nicole's energy will continue. 

Since it's further west, strong southwest winds will develop high overhead, says the National Weather Service office in South Burlington.  That will probably mean the Adirondacks will block some moisture from the Champlain Valley, and the Green Mountains could block some moisture from the Connecticut River Valley. 

It now appears that many spots in those valleys might receive only an inch of rain, or even a little less than that. The west slopes of the Greens could receive up to two inches.  

The National Weather Service in South Burlington released
this map of expected rainfall from the remnants of 
Nicole. Less rainfall is anticipated than was highlighted
in earlier forecasts 

Overall, the threat of minor flooding from  what will be the ghost of Nicole is decreasing in Vermont. 

The heaviest rain now looks like it will be over central and western New York, and maybe the southern slopes of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. (Tropical moisture from the Atlantic will be forced upward by the White Mountains, causing the heavier rain).

The run-up and passage of Nicole's ghost is your last chance to enjoy warm weather for probably, a long, long time. 

It'll pop up into the 60s this afternoon, stay mild tonight and reach the 60s again tomorrow. Early Saturday will be mild, too.

Then, that's it.

We have a change in the weather pattern that has kept us warm since mid-October.

A big northward bulge in the jet stream is forming over and near Alaska.  That means repeatedly batches of cold air will sweep southward from Canada into most of the United States for quite awhile. Possibly through the end of the month. 

Despite the unprecedented record heat at the beginning of this November, the month as a whole could easily turn out colder than average. Imagine that!

No good weather in Vermont goes unpunished, right?