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Forecasters say tropical storm-force winds are now near the Louisiana coastline as Hurricane Delta bears down on the region.

The National Hurricane Center said the center of the storm was about 160 miles (257 kilometers) south of Cameron, Louisiana, early Friday — and its tropical storm-force winds extend the same distance outward.

Delta is expected to bring fierce winds and a life-threatening storm surge to large parts of the Louisiana Gulf Coast when it reaches the coast later Friday.

In its 7 a.m. advisory, the Hurricane Center says Delta has maintained its maximum sustained winds of around 120 mph (193 kph). That’s an extremely dangerous Category 3 hurricane. Forecasters expect it to weaken before landfall, but they say it’s such a big storm that the surge of water could be very damaging.