Hurricane Nicole makes landfall in Florida, leaving thousands without power

Hurricane Nicole made landfall in Florida at around 3 a.m. ET on Thursday as a Category 1 storm, leaving thousands without power as it moves inland. 

The hurricane struck south of Vero Beach with heavy rain and strong winds of 75 mph, which caused a storm surge for several hours. The storm also threatens to bring tornadoes to the area. 

Around 63,000 customers were left without power in Florida as a result, according to poweroutage.us. 

Meteorologists said that the storm’s path shifted slightly, bringing hurricane conditions to Central Florida beaches and hurricane gusts to areas inland, according to WESH. 

More than five million Florida residents are under hurricane warnings and four million are under hurricane watches. Brevard and Volusia counties were placed under a hurricane warning, while Flagler is under a hurricane watch. Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole have posted a tropical storm warning. 

Many of the areas being impacted by Hurricane Nicole are the same ones that were devastated and are still recovering from Hurricane Ian. The storm has also prompted several flight cancellations and school closures. 

Before Hurricane Nicole reached the coast of Florida, officials asked people to evacuate buildings that are deemed unsafe to withstand the storm, including several buildings in Smyrna Beach and Daytona Beach Shores.

Hurricane Nicole is the first hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in the month of November in almost 40 years.