WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Nicole made landfall in the U.S. state of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane early Thursday morning and later weakened to a tropical storm.
The landfall was made along the east coast of Florida just south of Vero Beach around 3 a.m. ET (0800 GMT), according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Now a tropical storm, Nicole was located inland over central Florida on Thursday morning and is moving toward the west-northwest.
Tropical storm conditions, a dangerous storm surge, damaging waves, and heavy rainfall continue over a large area.
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 White House said on Thursday that U.S. President Joe Biden had declared that an emergency exists for the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Biden also ordered federal aid to supplement the Tribe's response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Nicole. ■