Hurricane Nicole Makes Landfall in Florida

Category 1 Hurricane Wreaks Havoc Along East Coast

Hurricane Nicole made landfall on Florida's east coast early Thursday morning as a Category 1 hurricane, bringing with it strong winds, heavy rainfall, and a dangerous storm surge. The storm has since weakened to a tropical depression, but it is still expected to impact the state with flooding and wind damage.

Nicole first made landfall on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas as a Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday afternoon. The storm then weakened slightly as it crossed the islands, but it regained strength before making landfall in Florida.

The storm made landfall near Vero Beach just before 3 a.m. EDT Thursday. At the time, Nicole had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. The storm surge reached up to 5 feet in some areas, causing flooding in coastal communities.