Live updates: Tropical storm warning canceled for Bradenton area as Nicole exits FL
Hurricane Nicole was downgraded to a tropical storm shortly after making landfall as a Category 1 storm in Southeast Florida early Thursday morning.
Here’s the latest for Manatee County:
Tropical storm warning canceled
The tropical storm warning was canceled at 4 p.m.
Sunshine Skyway Bridge reopens
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge has reopened to all traffic between Manatee and Pinellas counties as of 4 p.m. Thursday.
The bridge was closed due to high winds just before 7 a.m.
Manatee County Government updates
The Bradenton area avoided the worst of the storm, Manatee County Government said Thursday afternoon.
The county’s shelter at Freedom Elementary has been closed, and other county services that were suspended will reopen:
- Manatee County Public Library branches at Downtown Central, South Manatee, Rocky Bluff, Braden River, and Palmetto opened at 1:30 p.m. and will operate until 8 p.m.
- The Little Discovery Center and Island branch library remains closed.
- Animal Welfare’s three shelters: Bishop Animal Shelter, Palmetto Adoption Center and Cat Town Adoption Center, opened to the public at 1 p.m.
- Trash, recycling and yard debris suspended Thursday will be collected Friday. Friday’s scheduled collection will occur on Saturday.
- Manatee County Area Transit will resume normal operations Friday.
- Myakka City Community Center remains closed Thursday but will reopen Friday for water and chlorine distribution. The showers and laundry facilities will also reopen.
- The Florida Department of Health will resume well-being testing on Monday, Nov. 10.
Bradenton area wind and rain from Nicole
Peak winds of 54 mph and 2.16 inches of rainfall were recorded at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport during Tropical Storm Nicole’s passage, the National Weather Service of Tampa Bay said Thursday afternoon.
NWS Tampa afternoon update
As of 12:15 p.m., Manatee County is still under a tropical storm warning, National Weather Service meteorologist Ross Giarratana told the Bradenton Herald on Thursday.
Giarratana said this afternoon an important thing to watch is the rising sea levels along the coast, with the wind shifting onshore as Nicole draws away to the north.
He said that a one to three-foot storm surge is possible from Tampa Bay south to Engelwood, which includes Manatee County.
Malfunctioning traffic lights
Multiple reports of broken traffic signals have already been received by local officials in Manatee County.
Drivers should always stop, and approach those intersections as if they are four-way stops, yielding to right-of-way traffic.
Power outages
As of 10 a.m., there were 2,320 FPL customers and 377 Peace River Electric Cooperative customers without power in Manatee County.
Airports open
Both the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport and Tampa International Airport remain open, though some flights may be affected.
National Weather Service Tampa update
Although Nicole has weakened, it is still a strong tropical storm. Weather Service forecasters said in a video update that tropical storms often weaken but expand their wind field after making landfall.
The wind speed has not been consistent, although wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph have been observed throughout Florida.
Nicole has already produced 1–3 inches of rain across a wide area. So far, the highest rainfall record is just over 3 and a quarter inches. The storm’s rain bands show the heaviest downpours.
Tropical storm force winds are expected to persist into Thursday, with storm surge becoming a greater concern late Thursday and Friday.
Flooding is expected in flood-prone areas and small streams Thursday through Saturday.
Winds will continue to hit offshore areas, making for choppy seas through Saturday.
Skyway closed
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge was closed Thursday morning due to 50 mph wind gusts, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
As Tropical Storm Nicole approaches the Tampa Bay area, drivers should seek alternate north and southbound routes and use care on all highways.
Bradenton forecast
Just before 7 a.m., the National Weather Service in Tampa said, Southwest Florida was starting to see the peak wind and rain impacts with consistent 50-60mph winds reported.
In Bradenton, steady rain and wind gusts started overnight and were expected to peak Thursday morning.
Winds and rain chances should decrease throughout the day.
Manatee County is still under a tropical storm warning, which means threat of up to 55 mph winds, storm surge of 1-3 feet, and 1-3 inches of rain.
The Weather Service is doing an 8 a.m. video update and this story will be updated with that information.
Tonight: A 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Windy, with a south southwest wind 14-20 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Veterans Day: A 20% chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. South southwest wind 11-14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Friday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 67. West southwest wind 5-7 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 81. Light west southwest wind becoming west 5-9 mph in the morning.
Saturday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 67. West northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. North wind 6-11 mph.
Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. Northeast wind around 7 mph.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 83. Northeast wind 6 to 8 mph.
Monday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 65.
This story was originally published November 10, 2022 at 8:14 AM.
