Hurricane Florence was nearing landfall on the North Carolina coast, bringing with it life-threatening storm surge, heavy rain and sustained winds of 90 miles per hour. Although downgraded to a Category 1 storm, the hurricane has grown larger and slowed its march inland — factors likely to contribute to potentially catastrophic flooding.

Track Hurricane Florence's progress toward the east coast with the video embedded in this story. The storm is expected to make landfall sometime Friday morning.

Hurricane Florence is growing in size and strength as it barrels toward the Southeastern U.S. for an expected landfall in the Carolinas later this week as an "extremely dangerous hurricane," according to the National Hurricane Center.