Hurricane Nicole hits Florida's east coast and quickly weakens into tropical storm

Hurricane Nicole made landfall early Thursday along the east coast of Florida just south of Vero Beach, the National Hurricane Center said, and quickly lost some punch and was downgraded into a tropical storm. It was still hitting a large area of the storm-weary state with strong winds, dangerous storm surge and heavy rain, the center said.

What was a rare November hurricane had already led officials to shut down airports and theme parks and order evacuations that included former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club.

Authorities warned that Nicole's storm surge could further erode many beaches hit by Hurricane Ian in September.