The U.S. Gulf Coast earned a brief reprieve after Tropical Storm Marco fizzled out as made landfall.

But now the area is gearing up for a potential major hurricane as Laura approaches.

The storm has been upgraded to hurricane status as it crossed into the Gulf of Mexico. It could be a category 3 storm by the time it makes landfall, which could come late Wednesday or early Thursday.

Laura is already responsible for 11 deaths in the Dominican Republic and Haiti and now threatens many low-lying areas with a very high storm surge.

“We’re forecasting 7-11 feet above ground levels possible in portions of southwestern Louisiana to extreme eastern Texas,” said Eric Blake of the U.S. National Hurricane Center.