Nicole weakens to a tropical storm after striking Florida's east coast as the first US hurricane in November in nearly 40 years - CNN

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Nicole has weakened to a tropical tempest aft making landfall aboriginal Thursday arsenic a Category 1 hurricane on the eastbound seashore of Florida, knocking retired powerfulness to thousands, pushing buildings adjacent illness and flooding the seashore arsenic the archetypal hurricane to deed the US successful November successful astir 40 years.

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The tempest struck conscionable southbound of Vero Beach with winds of 75 mph earlier rapidly weakening, the National Hurricane Center said. Its beardown winds, downpours and storm surge thrashed immoderate areas deed successful September by Hurricane Ian.

A tornado threat, positive almighty upwind and rain, are expected to proceed Thursday successful parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. A tropical tempest informing is successful effect from Juniper, Florida, to the South Santee River successful South Carolina and on Florida’s westbound seashore – where Ian archetypal struck – from Bonita Beach to Indian Pass, positive Lake Okeechobee. Storm surge warnings besides stay successful spot crossed coastal Florida and Georgia.

“Given the uncertainty of the storm’s spot and way arsenic it approaches South Carolina, residents request to person their idiosyncratic exigency plans acceptable to spell conscionable successful lawsuit we request to instrumentality information precautions aboriginal successful the week,” said Kim Stenson, who heads the state’s exigency absorption division.

At 7 a.m. ET Thursday, Nicole was inactive packing 60-mph sustained winds and centered astir 30 miles southwest of Orlando, moving west-northwest astatine 14 mph.

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Up to 8 inches of rainfall could drench eastern, cardinal and bluish portions of Florida. And betwixt 2 to 6 inches are expected from parts of the US southeast to the confederate and cardinal Appalachians and occidental mid-Atlantic done Friday, the hurricane halfway said.

Nicole is expected to weaken to a slump aboriginal Friday and go a post-tropical cyclone implicit the Southeast.

Here’s what to cognize now:

Tens of thousands without power: More than 240,000 homes and businesses were without powerfulness aboriginal Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us.

Crews acceptable to survey damage: In Indian River County, officials Thursday greeting volition “be assessing debris and messaging cleanup plans,” spokesperson Kathy Copeland. In St. Lucie County, determination were truthful acold “no superior reports of damages oregon injuries,” spokesperson Erick Gill said, adding, “Most apt the biggest interaction is going to beryllium formation erosion.”

Residents urged to evacuate unsafe buildings: Ahead of Nicole’s landfall, officials asked radical to evacuate immoderate buildings deemed unsafe to withstand the storm. In New Smyrna Beach, immoderate condos were determined to beryllium unsound owed to the erosion of a oversea wall. And successful Daytona Beach Shores, inactive reeling from Ian’s impact, astatine slightest 11 buildings were astatine hazard of collapse, Public Safety Department Director Michael Fowler said.

Volusia County officials told radical to permission much than 20 buildings recovered to beryllium structurally unsound owed to Ian’s impact. “There is simply a beardown imaginable that 1 oregon much buildings volition illness during the storm,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood told CNN affiliate WESH-TV connected Wednesday.

“Right now, crushed zero is here.”

Low tide limits tempest surge: Nicole’s highest winds coincided with debased tide, limiting the tempest surge and inundation connected the shore. At Port Canaveral, the surge was measured astatine conscionable nether 6 feet astir 4 a.m. ET, conscionable aft landfall. Later Thursday morning, surge was down to astir 3 feet, but h2o levels are expected to stay precocious done precocious tide, betwixt 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Flights canceled and schools closed: The storm’s colossal way led to the closure of galore schools, colleges and universities, arsenic good arsenic the cancellation of hundreds of flights and the shuttering of amusement parks. Orlando International Airport halted operations Wednesday afternoon, and Miami International Airport warned of cancellations but did not program to close.

Historic hurricane: Nicole’s landfall Thursday was the latest successful a calendar twelvemonth a hurricane has ever struck Florida’s Atlantic coast. It broke the grounds acceptable by the Yankee Hurricane, which deed Florida’s eastbound seashore connected November 4, 1935.

Earlier impacts: Nicole connected Wednesday brought beardown winds and unsafe tempest surge to the northwestern Bahamas.