Nicole heads up East Coast after 4 deaths in Florida

NASA's new moon rocket reportedly experienced 100 mph winds at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Wednesday night, as Tropical Storm Nicole took aim at the Sunshine State.

Despite the incoming storm, NASA announced in a statement on Monday evening that its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket would remain on launchpad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, citing "current forecast data." In another statement on Tuesday evening, NASA said that the $4.1 billion test flight -- the opening shot in the space agency’s Artemis moon-exploration program -- "is designed to withstand" 85 mph winds.

"Current forecasts predict the greatest risks at the pad are high winds that are not expected to exceed the SLS design," the agency added. "The rocket is designed to withstand heavy rains at the launch pad and the spacecraft hatches have been secured to prevent water intrusion."

NASA had been aiming for a third launch attempt on Nov. 14 but is now looking at Nov. 16, "pending safe conditions for employees to return to work, as well as inspections after the storm has passed," the agency said.

Nearly 330,000 customers were without power across Florida on Thursday morning due to Tropical Storm Nicole, according to data collected by PowerOutage.us.

As of 9:34 a.m. ET, a total of 329,965 customers did not have power.

A "few" tornadoes are possible over parts of coastal east-central and northeastern Florida on Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

The tornado threat will spread northward across parts of southeastern Georgia and the Carolinas later Thursday through Friday morning.

Meanwhile, "large" swell waves generated by Nicole will affect the northwestern Bahamas, the east coast of Florida and much of the southeastern U.S. coast during the next few days.

"These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions," the National Weather Service said in a public advisory on Thursday morning.

A "dangerous" storm surge from Tropical Storm Nicole combined with the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline, according to the National Weather Service.

If the peak occurs at the time of high tide, the National Weather Service said, the water could reach up to 5 feet above ground from Florida's Jupiter Inlet to Georgia's Altamaha Sound, from Florida's St. Johns River to the Fuller Warren Bridge, and from Anclote River to Ochlockonee River in Florida.

"The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the north of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves," the National Weather Service warned in a public advisory on Thursday morning.

Through Saturday, Nicole is expected to produce 3 to 5 inches of rainfall from the northwestern Bahamas into portions of the Florida Peninsula, with a maximum of 8 inches of localized rain. The southeastern United States into the central Appalachian Mountains and eastern portions of Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio could see 2 to 4 inches of rainfall, with a maximum of 6 inches of localized rain along the Blue Ridge Mountains. The northern Mid-Atlantic region into New England could get 1 to 4 inches of rainfall.

"Flash and urban flooding will be possible, along with renewed river rises on the St. Johns River, across the Florida Peninsula today," the National Weather Service added. "Heavy rainfall from this system will spread northward across portions of the Southeast, upper Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic, and New England today through Saturday, where limited flooding impacts will be possible."