Nicole heads up East Coast after 4 deaths in Florida

Florida’s Brevard, Volusia, Flagler and Saint Johns counties, which had already seen beach erosion from September’s Hurricane Ian, are now seeing major beach erosion from Nicole, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis discusses status of Tropical Storm Nicole

DeSantis expanded a state of emergency to all Florida counties out of an abundance of caution.

ABCNews.com

DeSantis and Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie warned that the flooding along the Saint Johns River is at major flood stage and could continue to get worse.

DeSantis said 17,000 linemen are standing by to repair the downed power lines and 250 Department of Transportation crews are ready to clear roads and inspect bridges once it’s safe to do so.

-ABC News’ Alexandra Faul

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.