Hurricane Nicole makes landfall along Florida's East Coast

HURRICANE Nicole officially made landfall on the Florida coast early Thursday morning.

Nicole, a Category 1 Hurricane, hit the east coast of the Florida on North Hutchinson Island just south of Vero Beach around 3 am EST, according to the National Hurricane Centre.

The storm has brought intense rain and winds of up to 75 miles per hour, causing nearly 500 flight cancelations in Orlando and leaving tens of thousands without power.

Just before 4 am local time, more than 64,000 Floridians were without power, according to data obtained by Poweroutage.us.

Hurricane Nicole was highly anticipated, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declaring a state of emergency in 34 counties on Monday.