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(WJW) — Hurricane Laura has rapidly intensified from a tropical storm over the weekend, now reaching a Category 4 classification. The hurricane is set to make landfall in the United States around midnight tonight.

Since 1950, there have previously been seven Category 4+ hurricanes to hit the Gulf of Mexico in August. Those include: Camille (1969), Allen (1980), Andrew (1992), Bret (1999), Charley (2004), Katrina (2005) and Harvey (2017).

Laura’s storm surge (level of the sea rising) is predicted to be as high as 20-feet more than 20-30 miles inland.

People living on the Louisiana and Texas coasts have already been urged to leave their homes as the hurricane hurtles toward land.

Over the weekend, Laura was joined by Tropical Storm Marco, which did eventually weaken. There have still been no simultaneous hurricanes on record since 1851 in the Gulf of Mexico.

Laura reportedly killed nearly two dozen people on the island of Hispaniola, and also killed people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, leaving intense damage in her wake.

Follow FOX 8 for continuing coverage on Hurricane Laura.

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