UPDATE: Hurricane Laura now a Category 4, to hit Louisiana-Texas border Thursday morning

Hurricane Laura intensified Wednesday afternoon and is now a Category 4 hurricane, moving toward the Gulf Coast shoreline with landfall projected for Thursday morning.

The storm is gaining strength as it gathers water and wind in the Gulf of Mexico. Sustained winds are projected to exceed 100 mph.

The storm as of early Wednesday was projected to hit between Louisiana and Texas. 

“We could see storm surge heights more than 15 feet in some areas,” Stacy Stewart, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center said Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. “What doesn’t get blown down by the wind could easily get knocked down by the rising ocean waters pushing well inland.”