Hurricane Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, is expected to bring damaging winds, heavy rain and potentially life-threatening storm surge to the northern Gulf Coast when it makes landfall late Friday or early Saturday.

The governors of Florida, Alabama and Georgia have declared states of emergency, along with several Mississippi counties. Thousands of National Guard soldiers are being deployed.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Isaias is now Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, which forecasters consider a "major hurricane."

The storm was located around 170 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi at 8 a.m. ET. It is projected to track north, with the center passing near the Alabama-Florida state line, though its exact path remains uncertain. Heavy rain and flooding could extend as far north as Tennessee and North Carolina through the weekend.