TRACKING NICOLE: It was a Category 1 hurricane when it crossed over land just south of Vero Beach overnight as it moves over central Florida.
Nicole became a hurricane Wednesday evening as it slammed into Grand Bahama Island after making landfall just hours earlier on Great Abaco island as a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. It's the first storm to hit the Bahamas sinceFor storm-weary Floridians, it's only the third November hurricane to hit their shores since recordkeeping began in 1853. The previous ones were the 1935 Yankee Hurricane and Hurricane Kate in 1985.
There's no penalty for ignoring an evacuation order, but rescue crews won't respond if it puts their members at risk. Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort shut down Wednesday but said they intend to reopen Thursday,Palm Beach International Airport closed Wednesday morning and Daytona Beach International Airport said it would suspend operations. Orlando International Airport, the seventh busiest in the U.S., also closed.
Daniel Brown, a senior hurricane specialist at the Miami-based hurricane center, said the storm would affect a large swath of Florida.
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