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Hurricane Nicole is still lashing Florida’s Atlantic coast with 75mph winds as the dangerous storm batters the Sunshine State with powerful winds ahead of Tiffany Trump’s lavish weekend wedding.
The Category 1 hurricane made landfall on North Hutchinson Island around 140 miles north of Miami at around 3am, becoming the first to hit the US in November for 40 years.
Soon after making landfall Nicole was downgraded into a Tropical Storm – hitting Florida with winds of up to 75mph and is now moving in the direction of Georgia and South Carolina.
Bride-to-be Tiffany Trump is said to be ‘flipping out’ as the hurricane heads towards post Palm Beach, with her father’s swanky Mar-A-Lago estate being evacuated until Friday evening.
Staff were sent home according to Page Six, with Tiffany and her fiancé, billionaire heir Michael Boulous, remaining at the resort with her family.
A source said: ‘They’ve sent staff home. Tiffany is still there. Some guests came in for the week, and they had all these things planned.
‘It was going to be a whole over-the-top thing. They had to cancel events today and canceled a golf outing for tomorrow. Everyone is stuck inside.
‘Friday is supposed to be a welcome dinner and they aren’t sure it’s going to happen … Tiffany is flipping out.’
Trump’s Florida home is within the National Hurricane Center’s forecast of uncertainty, with forecasters expecting some wind and rain from the storm to hit the location.
Hollywood’s Broadwalk and Michigan Street next to Margaritaville were flooded with storm surge waters as Nicole made landfall at 3am
Donald Trump will stay in his beloved Mar-A-Lago mansion despite a mandatory evacuation order, with the main building sitting on a small rise that is about 15 feet above sea level
The Category 1 hurricane made landfall on North Hutchinson Island around 140 miles north of Miami at around 3am, becoming the first to hit the US in November for 40 years
Bride-to-be Tiffany Trump is said to be ‘flipping out’ as the hurricane heads towards post Palm Beach, with her father’s swanky Mar-A-Lago estate being evacuated until Friday evening
Properties in Volusia County were on the verge of toppling into the sea after the storm battered the coast and eradicated the land under their homes
Trump’s Florida home is within the National Hurricane Center’s forecast of uncertainty, with forecasters expecting some wind and rain from the storm to hit the location
Staff were sent home according to Page Six , with Tiffany and her fiancé, billionaire heir Michael Boulous, remaining at the resort with her family
Tiffany, the daughter of former President Trump and his ex-wife Marla Maples, has reportedly invited at least 500 people for the wedding who are flying in from all over the globe.
The hurricane, a rare occurrence this late in the year, comes just weeks after Florida was battered by deadly Cat 5 Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms to hit the United States.
A hangover from the storm could see flash flooding and other freak weather in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York later in the week.
Officials in Volusia COunty are keeping an eye on 34 buildings they are concerned will collapse, with deputies going door-to-door to urge residents to leave the coastline.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said: ‘Sadly, it’s not a matter of if something is going to collapse, it’s when. This is really bad, that’s why we had a curfew and a mandatory evacuation.’
A beach safety building collapsed at Daytona Beach early Wednesday afternoon as high tides contributed to the already eroded eastern coastline.
Before landfall, dramatic footage already showed waves crunching into piers across the eastern coast – sending wooden shards spiralling into the sea.
At least 11,000 Floridian homes and businesses were hit by blackouts just after 5am because of the storm, with 45 of the state’s 67 counties under a state of emergency and four under mandatory evacuation orders.
DeSantis said 16,000 people had been recruited to respond to power outages following the storm and 600 national guardsmen had been activated.
Nicole becomes the first hurricane to hit the US in November in nearly 40 years, and only the third in history to make landfall in Florida that month.
The last storms to hit the panhandle at this time of the year were Hurricane Kate in 1985, and Hurricane Eloise in 1975.
The hurricane, a rare occurrence this late in the year, comes just weeks after Florida was battered by deadly Cat 5 Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms to hit the United States
Daytona beach was hit hard by the flooding and 75mph winds, as residents were under a mandatory evacuation order for the second time in weeks
Volusia County was battered by the high winds and flooding from the storm surge, with 100,000 residents left without power because of the hurricane
Waters could surge up to four feet, with coastal towns at risk for wash-outs and severe flooding.
Up to six inches of rain are expected to fall as the storm moves across the state.
Authorities warned that Nicole’s storm surge could further erode many beaches hit by Hurricane Ian in September.
The sprawling storm is then forecast to head into Georgia and the Carolinas later Thursday and Friday, dumping heavy rain across the region.
Tropical storm force winds extended as far as 485 miles from the center in some directions.
Nicole’s center is expected to move across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia on Thursday and into the evening, and into the Carolinas on Friday.
A few tornadoes will be possible through early Thursday across east-central to northeast Florida, the weather service said.
Flash and urban flooding will be possible, along with renewed river rises on the St. Johns River, across the Florida Peninsula on Thursday.
Heavy rainfall from this system will spread northward across portions of the southeast, eastern Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic, and New England through Saturday.
Large swells generated by Nicole will affect the northwestern Bahamas, the east coast of Florida, and much of the southeastern United States coast over the next few days.
Nicole is expected to weaken while moving across Florida and the southeastern United States through Friday, and it is likely to become a post-tropical cyclone by Friday afternoon.
Donald Trump will stay in his beloved Mar-A-Lago mansion despite a mandatory evacuation order, with the main building sitting on a small rise that is about 15 feet above sea level and the property has survived numerous stronger hurricanes since it was built nearly a century ago.
There is no penalty for ignoring an evacuation order, but rescue crews will not respond if it puts their members at risk.
The announcement came just a day after Trump’s ‘red wave’ failed to dominate the Midterm Elections, as many of his nominations failed to pull out in the polls. However, Trump still considered the midterms to be a ‘very big victory.’
‘While in certain ways yesterday’s election was somewhat disappointing, from my personal standpoint it was a very big victory – 219 WINS and 16 Losses in the General – Who has ever done better than that?’ he said on his Truth Social platform.
A hangover from the storm could see flash flooding and other freak weather in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York later in the week
Storm tides hit Daytona Beach withdramatic footage already showing waves crunching into piers across the eastern coast – sending wooden shards spiralling into the sea
Workers board up a store with plywood in Daytona Beach Shores to try to limit the damage caused weeks after being hit by Hurricane Ian
Flash and urban flooding will be possible, along with renewed river rises on the St. Johns River, across the Florida Peninsula on Thursday
Residential buildings already damaged by Hurricane Ian and now threatened by Nicole. At some locations, authorities went door-to-door telling people to grab their possessions and leave.
Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort announced they likely would not open as scheduled Thursday.
More than 1,200 flights have been cancelled today after the storm made landfall, with 900 flights being cancelled the day before.
Orlando International Airport was the worst affected and was closed on Wednesday along with Palm Beach International Airport.
Daytona, Beach International Airport, Palm Beach International Airport, Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport all reported delays or cancellations on Wednesday.
Farther south, officials said Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport experienced some flight delays and cancellations, but both remained open.
At a news conference in Tallahassee, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that winds were the biggest concern and significant power outages could occur, but that 16,000 linemen were on standby to restore power as well as 600 guardsmen and seven search and rescue teams.
‘It will affect huge parts of the state of Florida all day,’ DeSantis said of the storm’s expected landing.
Daniel Brown, a senior hurricane specialist at the Miami-based National Hurricane Center, said the storm would affect a large part of the state.
‘Because the system is so large, really almost the entire east coast of Florida except the extreme southeastern part and the Keys is going to receive tropical storm force winds,’ he said.
Officials in Volusia, which is located near Orlando, said the hurricane will likely cause severe damage to the area, which is still recovering from Hurricane Ian
The announcement came just a day after Trump’s ‘red wave’ failed to dominate the Midterm Elections, as many of his nominations failed to pull out in the polls. However, Trump still considered the midterms to be a ‘very big victory’
A man uses his phone to take photos ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Nicole, in Daytona Beach
Nicole’s center is expected to move across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia on Thursday and into the evening, and into the Carolinas on Friday
Early Wednesday, President Joe Biden declared an emergency in Florida and ordered federal assistance to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts to the approaching storm. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is still responding to those in need from Hurricane Ian.
The National Hurricane Center said: ‘Storm surge could raise water levels by as much as four to six feet above normal tide levels along the immediate coast of the northwestern Bahamas in areas of onshore winds.’
Alongside surges, residents can expect ‘large and destructive waves’ and rain is expected to fall through Saturday.
Residents have spent the last couple of days rushing to stock up on gas and essentials as they prepare for the worst.
Officials in Volusia, which is located near Orlando, said the hurricane will likely cause severe damage to the area, which is still recovering from Hurricane Ian.
The evacuation areas in Palm Beach cover the county’s zones A and B, which includes barrier islands, low-lying areas, and mobile home communities, and was issued on Election Day – with rain and winds already seen in the Southeast part of the state are not expected to affect any voting sites.
Also included in the evacuation notice, issued by County Mayor Robert Weinroth at a 2pm news conference on Tuesday, was nearly all of the county’s coastline – home to several beachside locales in cities such as Boca Raton and Boynton Beach.
The evacuations, which go into effect 7am Wednesday, applies to nearly 120,000 residents – 52,000 of them living in mobile homes throughout the county and 67,000 along the coast, officials warned during the conference.
The county has since closed all 236 of its public school and announced that shelters will open at seven of them in their stead once the evacuation is underway. In total, nine shelters will be available for the public to use.
Residents were seen stocking up on bulk items at BJs – a wholesale store – carting around toilet paper and water, as well as, snacks and cat litter.
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