Nicole heads up East Coast after 4 deaths in Florida

Nicole weakened back into a tropical storm shortly after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane along Florida's east coast early Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm currently has maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour, as it moves inland across the Sunshine State. To be classified as a hurricane, a tropical cyclone must have maximum sustained winds of at least 74 mph.

Nevertheless, the National Weather Service warned that "strong winds, dangerous storm surge and waves, and heavy rains continue over a large area."

A hurricane warning from Boca Raton to the Flagler-Volusia County line in eastern Florida has been changed to a tropical storm warning. A tropical storm warning south of Boca Raton to Hallandale Beach, Florida, has also been discontinued, along with a hurricane watch for Florida's Lake Okeechobee.

A storm surge warning from North Palm Beach to Jupiter Inlet in eastern Florida has been discontinued. A storm surge watch south of North Palm Beach to Hallandale Beach, Florida, has also been discontinued.

All warnings have been discontinued for the northwestern Bahamas, according to the National Weather Service.

Nicole made landfall along Florida's east coast on North Hutchinson Island, just south of Vero Beach, at 3 a.m. local time on Thursday as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.

It's the second-latest hurricane landfall on record in the United States.

More than 38,000 customers in Florida were without power early Thursday, ahead of Hurricane Nicole's landfall, according to data collected by PowerOutage.us.

-ABC News’ Robinson Perez

Hurricane Nicole is approaching Florida as a large Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.

The latest forecast shows Nicole touching down along Florida's east coast after midnight but before sunrise, with one model estimating landfall between Cocoa Beach and Fort Pierce at 4 a.m. local time, although projections can change.

Hurricane warnings have been issued from West Palm Beach north to Daytona Beach, with tropical storm warnings extending inland from Miami through Tallahassee, and even extending into parts of southern Georgia and coastal South Carolina.

-ABC News' Riley Winch