Projections issued by the National Hurricane Center Saturday showed Hurricane Dorian, which hit the Bahamas Sunday, is now projected to slow down as it approaches the eastern coast of Florida and turn northward early on Tuesday, sparing Florida a direct hit. Dorian was upgraded to a Category 5 storm Sunday and it made landfall in the Bahamas.

Forecasts indicate Dorian will weaken significantly as it heads north up the coast, possibly making landfall near the border between North Carolina and South Carolina Thursday as a Category 1 or 2 storm. The governor of South Carolina declared a state of emergency for the state on Saturday.

The latest track keeps the core of the storm to the east of Hampton Roads and Northeast North Carolina, but residents will still feel the storm, according to the National Weather Service’s office in Wakefield.