There's a second Atlantic storm called Hurricane Nicole - here's why it matters

All the attention is on Hurricane Matthew as it nears a catastrophic march up the Florida coast, starting in the early hours of Friday morning.

And rightly so. This storm could be a worst-case scenario for Florida.

But you may have heard about another hurricane out there, Hurricane Nicole.

Upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane from a tropical storm Thursday, Nicole isn't projected to make landfall anywhere - except, perhaps, eventually Bermuda.

But that doesn't mean it doesn't matter.

Nicole is hot on Matthew's heels in the Atlantic, and it's interfering with the larger storm's path.

Take a look at this projection:

We have another article explaining a bit more about this rare phenomenon. But the key takeaway here is that Nicole looks like it will nudge Matthew back toward Florida and Bermuda in a kind of loop-de-loop later in the week. (Fortunately, Matthew will likely be much weaker at that point.)

Keep in mind that these projections point deep into next week, and hurricane models are generally only considered solid three days into the future. This is an unusual, dangerous situation in many respects, and we'll have to wait to know for sure how the two storms will interact.

So while few people should feel or see Nicole directly, the smaller storm will play a role in Matthew's path - however it plays out.

NOW WATCH: President Obama declares a state of emergency in Florida as Hurricane Matthew upgrades to a Category 4 storm

Please enable Javascript to watch this video