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Hurricane Nicole Recap

At a Glance

Nicole was one of the longest lived Atlantic named storms of 2016.
Nicole was the strongest hurricane strike (Category 3) on Bermuda since Fabian in 2003.

Nicole formed as a tropical storm south of Bermuda on Oct. 4, 2016.

It meandered in the same general area for several days and briefly became a Category 2 hurricane on Oct. 6. It then weakened to a tropical storm again on the following day.

By Oct. 10, Nicole began its crawl northward on a path that would take its center very close to Bermuda. It regained hurricane strength the following day on Oct. 11.

Nicole then rapidly strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane late Oct. 12 with maximum sustained winds increasing to 130 mph. It made its closest pass to Bermuda as Category 3 hurricane on Oct 13.

A last-hour eastward wobble appeared to spare Bermuda the eastern semicircle of Nicole, typically the location of a hurricane's strongest winds.

However, the northern, then western eyewall did not spare Bermuda, lashing the island with wind gusts over 100 mph in spots.

(LATEST NEWS: Nicole Rakes Bermuda)

Sustained winds topped 75 mph at Pearl Island and at L.F. Wade International Airport where peak gusts of 119 mph and 104 mph were measured, respectively on Oct. 13.

In fact, the eye of Nicole moved over Bermuda midday Oct. 13 before moving away later in the day.

No other center of a Category 3 or stronger hurricane had tracked as close to Bermuda (officially, it did not "make landfall", according to the National Hurricane Center) as Nicole's center did since an Oct. 22, 1926 hurricane. (Hurricane Fabian's eastern eyewall struck Bermuda in 2003, but its center remained about 14 miles west of Bermuda at its closest approach.)

In a true "weather geek" moment, the Bermuda Weather Service launched a weather balloon in the eye, something they also did during Hurricane Gonzalo in October 2014.

They described the "suspended salt spray", with a "small of ripped vegetation hanging in the heavy, hot air".

Prior to Nicole's direct hit on Bermuda, its large eye, approximately 50 miles wide at one time, was much larger than the width of Bermuda.

(MORE: Hurricane Central)

Hurricanes of this intensity passing near Bermuda are exceedingly rare. Only 12 Category 3 hurricanes have tracked within 75 miles of Bermuda since 1899.

Only four October hurricanes have tracked within 50 miles of Bermuda dating back to 1950, according to Dr. Phil Klotzbach, tropical scientist at Colorado State University.

After impacting Bermuda, Nicole moved across the north Atlantic Ocean for several days. It was finally declared post-tropical by the National Hurricane Center early on Oct. 18.

Nicole was the longest lived Atlantic named storm to form after Oct. 1 since 1906, according to Dr. Phil Klotzbach, a tropical scientist at the Colorado State University.