A photo taken from the International Space Station by astronaut Ricky Arnold shows Hurricane Florence over the Atlantic Ocean in the early morning hours of September 6, 2018. Picture taken September 6, 2018. Courtesy @astro_ricky/NASA/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) - Florence, a Category 4 hurricane, is growing in size and strength and is expected to strengthen into an extremely dangerous storm through Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday.

Florence is located about 1,170 miles (1,880 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Fear in North Carolina, packing maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour (220 km/h), the Miami-based weather forecaster said on Monday.

“The center of Florence will move over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda and the Bahamas Tuesday and Wednesday, and approach the coast of South Carolina or North Carolina on Thursday,” the NHC said.