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.
Latest headlines:
Nicole weakens back into a tropical storm
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 makes landfall as Category 1 hurricane in Florida
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.
38,000 without power in Florida ahead of Nicole's landfall
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
Latest forecast as Nicole approaches Florida
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
Latest forecast as Nicole moves across central Florida
The center of Tropical Storm Nicole is expected to move across central Florida on Thursday morning, possibly emerging over the far northeastern Gulf of Mexico on Thursday afternoon, then move across the Florida Panhandle and Georgia on Thursday night and Friday, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.
Although "additional weakening" is in the forecast, the National Weather Service warned on Thursday morning that "Nicole remains a large tropical storm" and "strong wind, dangerous storm surge and waves, and heavy rains continue over a large area." Tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 450 miles from Nicole's center, especially to the north. Sustained winds of 49 mph with a gust of 70 mph were reported early Thursday in Daytona Beach, Florida.
According to the National Weather Service, tropical storm conditions will continue along portions of the eastern coastlines of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina in the warning areas on Thursday. Tropical storm conditions are expected to occur within the warning area along Florida's west coast through Thursday night.