This is Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly with a Subtropical Storm Nicole update. I urge you to get prepared now for storm impacts as the current track indicates Flagler County will receive some of Nicole’s rain and wind, possibly as soon as Wednesday evening. Forecasters expect this storm to be a large one in size, but it’s not clear yet if Nicole will be at tropical storm or hurricane strength by the time it gets past the Bahamas and approaches Florida. We do not expect Nicole to have a significant impact on the mainland side of Flagler County; however, beachside is a different story. Barrier island residents should prepare for Nicole to have the same type of water impact as Hurricane Ian, including flooding along A-1-A and the Intracoastal Waterway with possible dune breaches, waves as high as 15 feet and high tide levels to be 2 to 3 feet higher than normal. Flagler County is expected to receive about 4 inches of rain starting Wednesday through Saturday. Keep in mind this can change depending on the storm track. Nicole is expected to make landfall in south Florida near Lake Okeechobee. The models are not very accurate the track moves further north over the next few days then you can expect Flagler County to be hit harder from Nicole than currently predicted. Start getting ready for conditions to deteriorate later this week, possibly as soon as Wednesday evening. If you’re going to shelter in place, make sure you have enough food and water to last at least 3 days. We recommend a week’s worth to be on the safe side. We also suggest having plenty of batteries available for flashlights and your weather radio should the power go out and you don’t have a generator. If you are going to put shutters up, we recommend you do that by Wednesday night. Flagler County Emergency Management has not determined if evacuations are needed. If there are evacuations, it will likely be just the barrier island and intercoastal areas. Once a decision is made by Flagler County Emergency Management we will let you know. For those who need sandbags, we will have them available today until 6:00 p.m. or when the materials run out at the following beachside locations in Palm Coast. - Flagler Technical College at 5633 North Oceanshore Boulevard in the Hammock - Bay Drive Park, located at 30 Bay Drive, also in the Hammock Inmate work crews will be loading the bags for you at both locations. Up to 10 sandbags are available per vehicle. The City of Flagler Beach is also offering sandbags at Santa Maria del Mar Catholic Church at 915 North Central Avenue until 6 o’clock tonight. Your Sheriff’s Office is ready and prepared for whatever Subtropical Storm Nicole send our way. We hope you are, too. Please continue to follow the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office on social media for updates as Nicole approaches Flagler County.