ORLANDO, Fla. — NASA made the decision to roll out its Artemis I rocket to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center aiming for a liftoff as early as next Monday, but what is now Subtropical Storm Nicole is predicted to transform and grow into Hurricane Nicole by Wednesday, and that could affect launch plans.
While currently subtropical, meaning it’s getting its energy not from warm tropical waters, but from the difference in pressure and temperature from an approaching high pressure system to the north of Florida, the National Hurricane Center predicts it will transition to a tropical system and become a Category 1 hurricane by Wednesday as it approaches Florida’s coast.
The NHC issued a hurricane watch Monday morning from the Brevard-Volusia county line south to Hallandale Beach with a tropical storm watch north of the county line into Georgia. The threat was not as pronounced, but still not ignored by NASA officials last week, who considered it worth the risk for rollout.
