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Hurricane Nicole made landfall along the east coast of Florida early Thursday morning, leaving at least five people dead and millions in damage in its wake.
But even though Nicole is a shell of its former self, the system will bring soaking rain and gusty winds to the Northeast through Saturday.
The National Hurricane Center said the center of Nicole moved onshore Thursday at 3 a.m. Eastern just south of Vero Beach, Florida. Nicole was packing maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, making it a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Shortly after making landfall, Nicole was downgraded to a tropical storm as it began to weaken over the Florida Peninsula. It later weakened to a tropical depression over the southeastern U.S. on Thursday evening.
The Yankee hurricane of 1935 was the last time a hurricane made landfall in November along the east coast of Florida. Hurricane Kate of 1985, which came ashore Nov. 21 along the Florida Panhandle, was the last November hurricane to make landfall anywhere in the U.S.
At least five deaths in Florida have been blamed on Nicole.
Officials at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said two people were electrocuted by a downed power line early Thursday in Orlando, Florida.
Two others were killed in a car crash on the Florida Turnpike.
A fifth person went unconscious while trying to ride out the storm on a yacht in Cocoa Beach, Florida, and later died at a hospital.
In Volusia County, dozens of oceanfront buildings and homes were severely damaged as relentless high surf took advantage of a weakened beach defense from September’s Hurricane Ian and washed away significant chunks of the beach.
Officials said 24 condos and hotels, including 10 buildings of at least 10 stories tall, are now unsafe and structurally dangerous, while another 25 homes have either already suffered significant damage or are threatened by the encroaching surf in the Wilbur-By-The-Sea neighborhood along Florida’s east coast.
