Tropical Storm Laura reached hurricane status this morning and is projected to become a major hurricane over the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico tomorrow, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) says.

Laura, as of this morning, is 625 miles southeast of Lake Charles, Louisiana and has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph with higher gusts. It is now becoming “better organized” over the Southeastern Gulf of Mexico, according to the NHC.

“Laura is forecast to reach the northwestern Gulf Coast as a hurricane late tomorrow and early Thursday with impacts including strong winds, storm surge, high surf and heavy rainfall expected,” the National Weather Service said in a statement.

The National Hurricane Center advisory says “from Wednesday afternoon into Saturday, Laura is expected to produce rainfall of 4 to 8 inches, with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches across portions of the west-central U.S. Gulf Coast near the Texas and Louisiana border north into portions of the lower Mississippi Valley.

“There is a risk of life-threatening storm-surge from San Luis Pass, Texas, to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, with the next 48 hours, and a storm surge watch is in effect for these areas outside of the southeast Louisiana Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System,” said the National Weather Service.

Additional hurricane watches have been issued for parts of Texas and Louisiana.

By late Friday night/early Saturday morning, what is left of Laura will bring several inches of rain to Tennessee and Kentucky.

Laura killed at least 11 people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where it knocked out power and caused flooding in the two nations that share the island of Hispaniola. The deaths reportedly included a 10-year-old girl whose home was hit by a tree and a mother and young son who were crushed by a collapsing wall.

While Laura continues to churn in the Gulf of Mexico, Tropical Storm Marco has weakened to a tropical depression. By early this morning, Marco was a remnant low just south of Louisiana.