Nicole made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on the east coast of the Florida peninsula, just south of Vero Beach, packing maximum sustained winds of 75 mph about 3am Thursday — leaving thousands without power.
The latest: About an hour later, Nicole weakened to a still-dangerous tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph as it moved over east-central Florida — bringing with it strong winds, powerful storm surge and waves as it dumped heavy rains across a large area, per the National Hurricane Center.
