Hurricane Dorian is howling over North Carolina’s Outer Banks — a much weaker but still dangerous version of the storm that wreaked havoc in the Bahamas

South Carolina and North Carolina coastal areas likely to catch the brunt of Dorian’s impact in the Southeast late Wednesday through Thursday.

Dorian remains on track to pass “dangerously close” to Florida and Georgia through Wednesday, before moving near or even over the coast of the Carolinas through Friday, according to the Hurricane Center.

As its horrific toll becomes clear in the northwestern Bahamas, the hurricane heads for its closest encounter with the U.S. mainland.