Tropical Storm Nicole sharply weakened as it crosses Florida after making overnight landfall as a hurricane

Tropical Storm Nicole weakened sharply late Thursday morning, its top winds falling to 50 mph as it moved across west-central Florida.

But the storm, which reached land as a Category 1 hurricane, caused widespread damage and power outages, particularly along the coast. The storm tore away beaches, damaged piers and caused the partial and full collapse of homes in Volusia County. Several homes in the vacation community of Wilbur-by-the-Sea were collapsing into the sea Thursday morning.

“This is obviously not as significant a storm as Hurricane Ian,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said, referring to the Category 4 storm that hit Florida in September, at a news conference Thursday morning in Tallahassee.. “But coming on the heels of that, you’re seeing communities particularly in the Volusia County area where you had a lot of erosion on the coastline. This has put some structures in jeopardy, and they’re working very hard to make sure everyone is safe.”

[ MAP: Here’s the updated forecast track of Tropical Storm Nicole ]

The storm’s huge wind field continued to generate dangerous waves, strong guests and heavy rains across much of the state, according to the 10 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center. But tropical storm warnings began to lift along the southern third of the Florida peninsula as the storm held to a course toward the northwest and the Gulf of Mexico.

As of Thursday morning, about 330,000 customers across Florida had lost power.

Palm Beach County lifted its evacuation order late Thursday morning, which had applied to coastal neighborhoods, mobile homes and low-lying areas.

“After proper assessment, major roads have been deemed clear, traffic signals are working and county staff completed the initial damage assessment of county buildings, beaches and the community overall,” the county said in a statement issued at 10:56 a.m.

Tropical storm warnings for Broward County and Palm Beach County south of Jupiter were canceled. By Thursday morning the sun was out again in South Florida, as the storm’s wind field pulled away to the north.

[ Nicole live webcams: See the conditions on Florida’s east coast ]

A coastal flooding advisory remained in effect for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, with moderate flooding possible at high tides late Thursday morning and Thursday night from 7 p.m. to midnight, the National Weather Service said. Large breaking waves of seven to 12 feet are possible in Palm Beach County.

The storm made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds at 3 a.m. Thursday on North Hutchinson Island just south of Vero Beach and quickly began to weaken. Landfall means the center of the storm’s eye, the region surrounded by the strongest winds, has come ashore.

“Tropical threats to South Florida are decreasing this morning as Nicole made landfall on North Hutchinson Island earlier this morning,” the National Weather Service said in a 5 a.m. update. “Many Tropical watches/warnings have been discontinued with the exception of northern portions of the area.”

Despite the storm’s weakening, most of Florida is in for a day of rainy, windy weather. At 10 a.m., the storm’s center was about 30 miles northeast of Tampa, moving west-northwest at 16 mph.

[ RELATED: Hurricane Nicole closures & cancellations: Everything you need to know ]

The storm is expected to take a diagonal path across the Florida peninsula, heading northwest and rapidly losing strength.

After the strike Thursday by a rare November hurricane, the Atlantic is clear of potential storms, according to the National Hurricane Center’s five-day forecast map. Hurricane season officially ends Nov. 30.

An emergency declaration was approved by President Joe Biden for 40 counties, making federal assistance available. The majority of Florida’s counties are under a state of emergency — 45 of the 67 counties.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said 600 Florida National Guard members have been activated and several search-and-rescue teams placed on standby.

This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

[ STAY UPDATED with the latest forecast for tropical weather at SunSentinel.com/hurricane ]