Nicholas arrived on shore just north of Matagorda, TX overnight with wind speeds of approximately 76 mph (122 km/h) making the storm a Category 1 hurricane at landfall. The wind speeds quickly diminished to Tropical Storm levels. The current winds are at a maximum sustained speed of 60 mph (95 km/h) and declining rapidly.

Current predictions indicate the storm will pass over Houston, TX as it begins a more easterly direction later today. As Nicholas passes Houston, it is expected to downgrade to a Tropical Depression by Wednesday morning and slowly move towards Lake Charles, LA. Current models indicate the storm will linger in this path through Thursday morning before beginning to break apart.

The new path and the slow movement has changed the rainfall models, with the majority of the precipitation to occur from Orange County, TX to the east side of New Orleans, LA. The entire southern region of the State of Louisiana is predicted to receive upwards of 10 inches of rain with isolated amounts of up to 20 inches. Flash flooding is predicted to occur and the area is still recovering from Hurricane Ida’s devastation only two weeks ago.

An updated list of Zip Codes for areas projected to experience tropical storm wind conditions or greater is available to download here.

Storm Preparedness
Operations and Claims continue to follow their catastrophe plans for Nicholas.

Measures include:

• Proactive outbound calling to agents/carriers
• Evaluating staffing adjustments for the First Notice of Loss team
• Ensuring that our catastrophe claims adjusters and vendors are prepared
• Tracking insurance regulation updates that may impact our business