Leon County preps for Hurricane Nicole – WCTV

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Preparations are underway for Tallahassee and Leon County as they brace for the possibility of downed power lines and power outages from Hurricane Nicole.

As of Wednesday, Leon County is under a tropical storm warning and Leon County Emergency Management Director Kevin Peters said that means the county could see tropical storm-forced winds in the next 24 hours.

“Over these previous days we’ve been sharing the storm forecast to make sure everyone has situational awareness on what the impacts may be,” Peters said.

Those on standby that may be sprung into action with any damage from the expected winds are line crews with the county.

Peters said the crews have been setting schedules, gathering and preparing their equipment and topping off their vehicles with fuel in case they’re called into action.

“With the winds that have already started there are a few calls that are already going on for tree limbs or some of the branches that have fallen,” Peters said.

Peters said the crews have been actively monitoring the situation as Leon County could see sustained winds up to 39 miles per hour.

Peters said that also means citizens need to make their own safety preparations.

“Know where the safe place in your home is,” Peters said. “You should be in an area that is away from all exterior windows and doors in the lowest level of the home.”

Peters said now is the time to restock disaster supply kits as the latest forecasts show the Hurricane moving through the west coast of the state and potentially into the big bend.

Peters said the area could expect as much as 2 to 3 inches of rain from Nicole.

“If you don’t have to be on the roadways during the storm, or in the immediate aftermath, stay home, stay off the roads and let crews work the roadways,” Peters said.

Peters said they will have law enforcement working traffic control if necessary for major road blockages.

Peters said line crews have been in coordination with their associations for the possibility of having to deploy mutual aid, however, as of Wednesday evening, there have not been any requests.

“For Leon County, it’s been a long time since we’ve been affected in November from a storm like this,” Peters said.

The last one being 1985 with Hurricane Kate, however, Peters said climatologically the season runs until the end of November.

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