A menacing Hurricane Dorian is taking aim at the northern Bahamas early Sunday, strengthening to a "catastrophic" Category 5 storm -- packing winds of 180 mph and the threat of torrential rain that could last for days as millions in the U.S. along the Southeastcoast from Florida to North Carolina are keeping an eye on where the storm may head next.

The National Hurricane Center as of 11 a.m. Sunday reported the center of the Category 5 storm was located around 20 miles east of Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas and 205 miles east of West Palm Beach, as it was moving west at 7 mph with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph.

NHC Director Ken Graham said that Dorian's eyewall, where the strongest winds are located, is starting to reach the Bahamas.

"Right now one of the strongest storms in history for this region," Graham said in a morning briefing.

Dorian is an "extremely dangerous" hurricane according to Fox News Senior Meteorologist Janice Dean, who said the storm is set to deliver a "devastating blow" to the northwest Bahamas Sunday through Monday.

"A perfect beast of a storm," Dean said Sunday morning on "Fox & Friends," adding that the northwestern Bahamas have never had a direct impact of a Category 5 storm before.

"This is not a storm to be messed with," Dean added.

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