Hurricane Nicole: Florida braces for November storm

Hurricane Nicole plowed through the Bahamas on Wednesday as it was upgraded from a tropical storm, lashing the West Indies archipelago nation with howling winds and raging surf while churning ever closer to Florida's Atlantic shoreline. (AP)

Nicole was packing sustained winds of up to 75 mph (120 kph) as it made landfall on Grand Bahama Island, and was expected to move ashore over the eastern seaboard of Florida late on Wednesday or early Thursday, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported. (AP)

Authorities in several counties, along Florida's east coast, issued mandatory evacuation orders or advised residents in low-lying areas along the shore and on barrier islands to seek shelter. (AP)

As the storm closed in earlier on Wednesday, some residents fled their homes amid fierce winds and flooding. (Reuters)

The Bahamas Department of Meteorology reported a nearly 4-foot (1.2 meters) storm surge north of the town of Treasure Cay on Abaco. Waves flooded at least one road in Nassau, the capital, officials said. (AP)

The storm's center was expected to pass well north of Miami, Florida's most populous city. But Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 45 counties, and a hurricane warning remain posted for a 240-mile expanse of Florida's Atlantic seaboard from Boca Raton north to around Flagler Beach. (Reuters)

The National Hurricane Center also issued storm-surge advisories for much of Florida's east coast, warning that wind-driven waves were expected to wash over beaches and rush inland to flood low-lying areas well beyond the shore. (AP)

State officials opened 15 emergency shelters across the region, activated 600 National Guard troops for emergency response and recovery efforts, and placed 1,600 utility workers on standby to restore power knocked out by the storm. More than a dozen school districts were closed on Wednesday and more than 20 school districts across the state were scheduled to be closed on Thursday. (AP)