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.

More than 215,000 customers were without power across Florida on Thursday morning due to Tropical Storm Nicole, according to data collected by PowerOutage.us.

As of 7:04 a.m. ET, a total of 215,443 customers did not have power.

-ABC News' Robinson Perez

Tropical Storm Nicole's maximum sustained winds decreased to 60 miles per hour with higher gusts as the storm’s center moved over central Florida, near Orlando, on Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

"Additional weakening is forecast while Nicole moves over land during the next day or two, and the storm is likely to become a tropical depression over Georgia tonight or early Friday," the National Weather Service said in a public advisory. "Nicole is expected to merge with a frontal boundary over the Mid-Atlantic United States by Friday night."

A tropical storm warning has been discontinued for the Florida east coast south of Jupiter.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect for Jupiter, Florida, to South Carolina's South Santee River; for north of Bonita Beach to Indian Pass, Florida; and for Florida's Lake Okeechobee. A storm surge warning is in effect for Florida's Jupiter Inlet to Georgia's Altamaha Sound; for the mouth of the St. Johns River to Georgetown, Florida; and for the Anclote River to the Ochlockonee River in Florida. A storm surge watch is in effect for the Ochlockonee River to Indian Pass, Florida; and for Georgia's Altamaha Sound to South Carolina's South Santee River, according to the National Weather Service.

More than 175,000 customers were without power across Florida early Thursday morning, as Tropical Storm Nicole moved inland over the Sunshine State, according to data collected by PowerOutage.us.

As of 6:23 a.m. ET, a total of 177,423 customers did not have power.

-ABC News’ Robinson Perez

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