Nicole heads up East Coast after 4 deaths in Florida
Nicole made landfall as a hurricane Thursday morning.
Nicole made landfall along Florida's east coast as a Category 1 hurricane early Thursday before weakening to a tropical depression later that night.
It was the second-latest hurricane landfall in a calendar year on record in the United States.
Nicole formed as a subtropical storm in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean on Monday, becoming the 14th named storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which ends later this month.
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Artemis rocket suffered minor damage
NASA's new moon rocket Artemis suffered minor damage when Nicole’s powerful winds blew through Cape Canaveral, Florida, Wednesday night, according to Jim Free, associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA.
Free said the damage can be repaired easily.
NASA is targeting Nov. 16 at 1:04am ET for the launch. The uncrewed mission to the moon will last 25 days, with a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
-ABC News’ Gina Sunseri
Remnants of Nicole race up East Coast
The remnants of Nicole are racing up the East Coast, bringing rain to the central Appalachian Mountains, the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
Flash flooding is possible from the central Appalachians into western Pennsylvania and New York state.
A tornado watch remains in effect for parts of eastern Virginia and North Carolina until 6 p.m.
The heavy rain will persist in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast through the night. Winds will be gusty at times, especially along the coast.
The rain will mostly wrap up Friday night, lingering into early Saturday morning across New England.
-ABC News’ Dan Peck
Nicole churns over Georgia with 'heavy' rain
Tropical Depression Nicole was churning over Georgia early Friday morning, wielding maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour with higher gusts, according to the National Weather Service.
The center of Nicole is forecast to move across central and northern Georgia on Friday morning and over the western Carolinas later in the day. Nicole is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone later Friday, then dissipate overnight as it merges with a frontal system over the eastern United States.
In a public advisory early Friday, the National Weather Service said that Nicole will continue to bring "heavy" rainfall to portions of the southeastern U.S. There are currently no coastal watches or warnings in effect.
Here's where Nicole is headed next
Areas of heavy rain and gusty winds will continue to impact parts of the Southeast overnight as the system begins its move up the East Coast.
A tornado threat continues for portions of Georgia, South Carolina and now southern North Carolina as of Thursday night.
A tornado watch is in effect until at least 1 a.m., including in Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina.
-ABC News' Dan Peck
Nicole close to hurricane strength as it heads for Florida
Tropical Storm Nicole barrelled toward the northwestern Bahamas and eastern Florida on Wednesday morning, with maximum sustained winds near 70 miles per hour -- almost as a strong as a hurricane, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.
To be classified as a hurricane, a tropical cyclone must have maximum sustained winds of at least 74 mph.
The center of Nicole is forecast to approach the northwestern Bahamas on Wednesday morning, move near or over those islands by midday, then approach the east coast of Florida within the hurricane warning area on Wednesday night. The storm's center is expected to move across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia on Thursday, then across the Carolinas on Friday.
"Some strengthening is expected today, and Nicole is forecast to become a hurricane near the northwestern Bahamas and remain a hurricane when it reaches the east coast of Florida tonight," the National Weather Service said in a public advisory on Wednesday morning. "Nicole is expected to weaken while moving across Florida and the southeastern United States Thursday through Friday, and it is likely to become a post-tropical cyclone by Friday night over the Mid-Atlantic states."
As of early Wednesday, Nicole was already spreading gusty winds and rain showers into Florida, where it is later expected to make landfall between the southeastern cities of West Palm Beach and Melbourne as either a tropical storm or a Category 1 hurricane. Its tropical storm-force winds currently extend outward up to 460 miles, especially to the north of the center. In the early morning hours, a National Ocean Service station at the Lake Worth Pier, just south of West Palm Beach, reported sustained winds of 44 mph and a wind gust of 55 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Because Nicole is so close to hurricane strength, the National Weather Service has issued hurricane and storm surge warnings along Florida's east coast from Daytona Beach to West Palm Beach. Meanwhile, Miami is under a tropical storm watch and tropical storm warnings have been issued for Florida's west coast as well as from Jacksonville up through Savannah, Georgia, to Charleston, South Carolina.
Storm surge will be the highest on the eastern coastlines of Florida and Georgia, from the border down to West Palm Beach, where water could rise as much as 5 feet above normal tide levels. Some storm surge is also possible on Florida's east coast from Sarasota to Tampa, where water could rise as much as 3 feet and up to 4 feet in the Big Bend area and Apalachicola. Storm surge will be felt all the way to Charleston, South Carolina, where water could rise up to 4 feet.
The areas that will see the heaviest rainfall will be right where the storm touches down on Florida's east coast, with the potential for up to 8 inches of localized rain. Heavy rain will track north and inland, into Georgia, the Appalachian Mountains from Tennessee and North Carolina to Pennsylvania and into western New York where more than 4 inches of rain is possible.
-ABC News' Max Golembo
