STUART, Fla. – More than 330,000 homes and businesses across central Florida remained without power Thursday afternoon as deadly Hurricane Nicole, downgraded to a tropical storm but still large and dangerous, slammed the region with powerful winds and heavy rain.
The storm proved deadly Thursday as two people were killed by electrocution when they touched downed power lines in the Orlando area, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said. "Never touch a downed power line," the sheriff's office said in a tweet.
The rare November hurricane, which made landfall south of Vero Beach early Thursday as a Category 1 storm, was centered about 105 miles north-northwest of Tampa at 4 p.m. The National Hurricane Center warned that Nicole would bring heavy downpours, strong winds, dangerous storm surge, and flooding across a swath of the Southeast over the next couple of days.
By 10 p.m. Thursday, Nicole weakened to a tropical depression but will continue to bring heavy rains to portions of the southeastern U.S, according to the hurricane center.
"This is a life-threatening situation," wrote Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center, in an advisory. People in the region, he said, "should take all necessary actions to protect life and property from rising water and the potential for other dangerous conditions."
Tornado watches were issued for parts of Florida and Georgia. St. Augustine, where the iconic Bridge of Lions spanning the Intracoastal Waterway was under siege from Nicole, was briefly under a tornado warning Thursday morning.
"The city is flooding at a rapid pace and the Bridge of Lions is closed," the city said in a Twitter post. "There are several roads that are impassable and closed, more than the usual flooded areas."