As of now, Louisiana residents won’t have to change their weekend plans because of Hurricane Rafael, forecasters with the New Orleans National Weather Service say, even though the storm is headed toward the Gulf of Mexico.

The only immediate impact Louisiana is likely to experience is minor to moderate coastal flooding, NWS forecaster Christopher Bannan said.

The storm made landfall in western Cuba on Wednesday afternoon as a Category 3 hurricane. The latest issue from the National Hurricane Center in Miami shows Rafael turning west and moving over the south-central Gulf in the coming days.

“Some weakening is expected as the storm passes over Cuba, but Rafael will likely remain a hurricane over the southeastern and southern Gulf of Mexico for the next few days,” NHC hurricane specialist Daniel Brown said in a 3 p.m. update.

While there is a lot of uncertainty about where Rafael will go after it enters the Gulf, hurricane forecasters say there is increasing confidence that the storm will not make landfall in the US.

Bannan said that while some showers from the outer bands of the storm cannot be completely ruled out, the rain produced by Rafael is expected to remain too far south to affect southeastern Louisiana.

However, there is a chance of excessive rainfall in central and southwestern Louisiana on Saturday due to a weak cold front moving across the state that could encounter moisture produced by Rafael, National Weather Service forecasters in Lake Charles said.

The further south the storm moves, the less likely Louisiana will see rain this weekend, NWS Lake Charles forecaster Andrew Tingler said.

Unfortunately, even if a cold front moves through the area, state residents are unlikely to see temperatures cool, barring a drop of a few degrees in the evening.

Louisiana residents should still keep an eye on Rafael’s updates.