What's the last hurricane to make landfall on Florida's east coast in November?

The Yankee hurricane of 1935 made landfall near Miami Beach on November 4 as a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph.

Only one hurricane has made landfall on Florida's east coast in November in recorded history. That could change if Tropical Storm Nicole intensifies into a hurricane in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean before reaching the Florida Peninsula on Wednesday night.

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The Yankee hurricane of 1935 made landfall near Miami Beach on Nov. 4 as a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph. The storm was dubbed the "Yankee" hurricane because it came from the north.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the storm developed from an extratropical low east of Bermuda. Sitting over warm waters for a long period of time, thunderstorms developed near the center of the circulation and led to the development of tropical characteristics. A large, high-pressure ridge to the north of the system pushed the tropical storm westward very near Bermuda.

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Yankee hurricane strikes South Florida

By Nov. 1, the storm had developed into a hurricane with an eye set on North Carolina. Less than 24 hours later, its track made a southwest turn away from Cape Hatteras and toward the Bahamas. At times, maximum sustained winds were estimated at 105 mph.

By Nov. 4, the hurricane began to curve westward over the northern Bahamas causing 14 deaths from considerable flooding.

By the time the hurricane struck the northern Miami Beach area, winds had weakened slightly to 98 mph. NOAA reports about 3 feet of storm surge came over Miami Beach and downtown Miami, flooding streets.

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"The winds shattered plate-glass windows in the shopping district and unroofed houses in Dade and Broward counties," the agency said in an 80th-anniversary blog post about the storm. "Construction standards had been raised after the Great Miami hurricane of 1926 and damage was only US $5.5 million."

Only five deaths occurred in Florida. NOAA said the extensive warnings issued prior to landfall aided in the lower death count.

After passing through the peninsula of South Florida in eight hours, the hurricane weakened as it entered the Gulf of Mexico before making another turn back toward Florida. It dissipated before making another landfall.

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