Hurricane Nicole made landfall early Thursday south of Vero Beach on Florida's east coast. Strong gusts, deadly storm surges, and torrential rains were already brought by the storm to a vast portion of the state, according to authorities.
Officials had previously evacuated areas, including former US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property, and shut down airports and theme parks due to the unusual November hurricane.
Many beaches damaged by Hurricane Ian in September were warned to beware of Nicole's storm surge. Later on Thursday and Friday, the massive storm is expected to move through Georgia and the Carolinas, bringing torrential rain.
Early Thursday morning, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) classified Hurricane Nicole as a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph). Approximately 25 kilometers (about 15 miles) to the north-northwest of Fort Pierce is where the storm was. It was traveling at around 14 mph (22 km/h) in a west-northwest direction, according to AP News.
Tropical-storm-force winds reached 485 miles (780 kilometers) from the center.
Nicole is expected to pass through central and northern Florida on Thursday until Thursday night before moving into southern Georgia and the Carolinas on Friday.
The weather service has warned that east-central and northeast Florida could see a handful of tornadoes on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
Thursday will bring urban flooding to the Florida Peninsula, and the St. Johns River will increase. Through Saturday, the weather system will provide heavy rain to a large swath of the southeast, eastern Ohio Valley, Central Atlantic, and northern New England.
For the next few days, the northeastern Bahamas, the eastern coast of Florida, and much of the southeastern United States coast will be hit by huge waves caused by Nicole.
Nicole Has Weakened Back Into a Tropical Storm
As of the most recent report, Hurricane Nicole is becoming less of a threat, but officials are still warning people to be careful.
National Weather Service (NWS) noted that Nicole quickly fell back into a tropical storm after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Thursday along Florida's east coast, per ABC News.
As the hurricane travels onshore through Florida, it has reached peak sustained winds of 70 mph. A tropical storm must have maximum sustained winds of at least 74 mph to be designated as a hurricane.
However, NWS warned that "strong winds, dangerous storm surges and waves, and heavy rains" persist across a vast area.
The eastern coast of Florida, from Boca Raton to the border between Flagler and Volusia counties, is now under a tropical storm warning instead of a hurricane warning.
Along with the hurricane watch for Florida's Lake Okeechobee, the tropical storm warning for the area south of Boca Raton to Hallandale Beach has also been canceled.
North Palm Beach to Jupiter Inlet in eastern Florida is no longer under a storm surge warning. In addition, the storm surge alert for the area of Florida's east coast between North Palm Beach and Hallandale Beach has been lifted.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has lifted all watches and warnings for the westernmost islands in the Bahamas.
Power Outage Affects Thousands
WESH 2 News reports that the worst of the weather is expected to hit the area on Thursday early. Many people in Brevard County were left without electricity when Hurricane Nicole ripped through the area.
The NHC stated in its report that "the forecast trajectory, the center of Nicole will pass across central Florida this morning, perhaps emerge over the far northeastern Gulf of Mexico this afternoon, and then proceed across the Florida Panhandle and Georgia tonight and on Friday.
4AM EST November 10 Key Messages for #Nicole: Tropical storm conditions, a dangerous storm surge and damaging waves, and heavy rainfall continue over a large area. See https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB for more details. pic.twitter.com/QWk3GZMT1w
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) November 10, 2022
Nicole will have "additional weakening" as it moves over land over the next day or two. The weather system is also expected to weaken to a tropical depression near Georgia tonight or early Friday, the hurricane bureau added.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated at a press conference in Tallahassee that winds were the main worry and that there might be substantial blackouts but that 16,000 linemen, 600 guardsmen, and seven search and rescue teams were ready to make repairs.
