Hurricane Dorian weakens to Category 3, continues to pound Bahamas ahead of move up Florida, Georgia, Carolinas

Hurricane Dorian’s has weakened to a Category 3 storm, but it continues to sit on top and pummel the Bahamas.

The National Hurricane Center’s 5 a.m. update showed the hurricane still has sustained wind of 120 miles an hour with gusts up to 150. The storm is not moving. It’s listed as stationary, leaving the powerful storm on top of the Bahamas now for more than 24 hours.

Dorian is expected to start moving Tuesday morning and will pick up speed into Wednesday and Thursday–moving up the East Coast from Florida to Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

“Raleigh is now out of the cone of uncertainty, but still as this cone is tightened, the Outer Banks within what could be the fourth landfall for this storm system,” ABC11 Meteorologist Don “Big Weather” Schwenneker said.

Dorian will be off the North Carolina coast Thursday night or Friday morning. The good news is the storm will be picking up speed, so it will not stay in the Carolinas for long. It should have moved off by Friday evening.

In the Bahamas, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said at least five people died in the Abaco Islands as a result of the storm.

VIDEO: Hurricane Dorian unleashes catastrophic damage in Bahamas
On Sunday, Dorian blasted the Bahamas with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph and gusts up to 220 mph, tying the record for the most powerful Atlantic hurricane to ever make landfall.

WATCH: What it looks like inside the eye of Hurricane Dorian

Gov. Roy Cooper has issued a State of Emergency in North Carolina as the state braces for the potential impacts of Hurricane Dorian.

MORE: Carriers offering free data, texting for those in storm’s path

Mandatory evacuation orders in Florida for low-lying and flood-prone areas and mobile homes are in place from Palm Beach County north to at least the Daytona Beach area, and some counties to the north issued voluntary evacuation notices.
WATCH: Bahamas resident shows, describes conditions as Dorian pounds island nation

In South Carolina, the governor issued a mandatory evacuation of the entire coast beginning Monday.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has also ordered a mandatory evacuation of the state’s Atlantic coast starting at midday Monday.

Kemp tweeted late Sunday that his executive order covers all those located east of the Interstate 95 corridor on Georgia’s Atlantic seaboard. It begins at noon EDT Monday as powerful Hurricane Dorian creeps ever closer to the U.S. Southeast.

PREPARE FOR THE STORM

While it is too early to know the impact Dorian will have, it is never to early to prepare with the essential supplies.

What to know about generators before a power outage
What happens to your home in hurricane-force winds?
Foods to stock up on before a storm hits