According to the National Hurricane Center’s 4 p.m. CDT update, Francine had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, was centered about 360 miles southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, and was moving toward the northeast at 10 mph.

Forecasters expect the storm to strengthen into a hurricane early Wednesday morning, reaching peak winds of 90 mph before making landfall. They expect a period of “steady to rapid strengthening” over the next 24 hours, though winds will remain steady at 65 mph throughout Tuesday.

Francine, which is expected to reach Louisiana on Wednesday evening, has prompted a hurricane warning for the Louisiana coast from Cameron to Grand Isle, a storm surge warning from Sabine Pass, Texas, to the Mississippi-Alabama border, and a tropical storm warning extending from extreme eastern Texas to the Alabama-Florida border.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the New Orleans metropolitan area, Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas, which are simultaneously under a tropical storm warning.

The storm threatens to cause “life-threatening flooding” in areas under storm surge warnings, with surges of up to 10 feet (3 meters) expected between the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge and Port Fourchon along the Louisiana coast.

According to the National Hurricane Center, widespread rainfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) are expected, with some areas possibly getting as much as 12 inches (30 centimeters). The center warned that there could be “significant flash flooding and urban flooding” and that there is also a threat of tornadoes.

Evacuation orders have been issued for large parts of coastal Louisiana, primarily low-lying areas with limited or no levee protection, while many schools in southern Louisiana remain closed Wednesday.