Kickstart: A ho, ho, whole lot of plastic Santas

Fans of vintage outdoor holiday decorations hit the jackpot this weekend in Pennsylvania where nearly 2,000 pieces of blow molded decorations belonging to a Nebraska collector were auctioned off.

Jeff Weber told local TV station WNEP that he'd been collecting items for 40 years, with his grandparents contributing items from the 1960s and 1970s. All the pieces had been put on display at his Omaha home in the past.

Jones Auction House LLC of Spring Brook Township, Pa., hosted the one-day special sales event on Nov. 6. On a social media post, Jones Auction said the sale would be the largest it ever had.

"We've sold some blow molds, believe it or not, plastic Christmas decorations for almost $4,000, so it's the things that we used to get rid of, and now they've become very collectible," Eric Jones, Jones Auction House owner, told WNEP.

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Tropical Storm Nicole — expected to reach hurricane status soon — is forecast to hit Florida's Atlantic Coast by early Thursday, missing major plastics processing areas in the Southeastern U.S.

But storm watchers and emergency response officials are warning that the storm could disrupt marine traffic and cause local flooding from Florida to South Carolina.

The Jacksonville (Fla.) Port Authority said it is monitoring conditions. A U.S. Coast Guard bulletin advised that "all ships should coordinate their efforts in accordance with their evasion plan."

Local officials in Palm Beach County began mandatory evacuations in some neighborhoods on Nov. 8.

While Nicole will make landfall on the opposite coast of Florida from Hurricane Ian, which hit the Gulf Coast Sept. 28, heavy rains could fall on some regions of central Florida flooded by the earlier storm, officials warned. Up to 7 inches of rain could fall in some parts of Florida and as many as 4 inches in Georgia and South Carolina as the storm moves north, the National Hurricane Center said in a Nov. 8 notice.

Eight cyclists representing materials supplier Harwick Standard Distribution Corp. covered 101 miles of bicycling on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail and took first place in a fundraiser to support the parkway at the same time.

Team Harwick Standard raised $14,669 during the one-day ride, the Akron, Ohio-based company said in a news release. Riders included Harwick Standard President Ernie Pouttu, current employees Tim Miller, Joe Mazur, Pete Cookro and Carly Poutt and retirees Roger Read and Dave Schulz.

The trail stretches from Cleveland to New Philadelphia, Ohio. Donations go to maintain, develop and enhance the towpath trail.

This isn't the first time the company has supported the event. Harwick riders have participated every year since the Towpath Century Ride began in 2010.