Hurricane Dorian was upgraded to Category 2 strength late Thursday and was expected to continue gathering force over the holiday weekend as it heads toward Florida.

As of 11 p.m. ET Thursday, the storm had maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, placing it just short of being a Category 3 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center reported.

Dorian was expected to remain a major hurricane through Friday and hit Florida's east coast by Monday night, according to the Associated Press.

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As of late Thursday, the hurricane was about 295 miles east-northeast of the southeastern Bahamas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.