Hurricane Michael has strengthened to a Category 2 storm and is expected to make landfall on Florida’s Panhandle by the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 10. The storm is predicted to strengthen to a Category 3 storm before making landfall, bringing heavy rain and the risk of flash flooding.

Hurricane Michael’s core, approximately 395 miles south of Panama City, Fla.., as of 8 a.m. ET Tuesday, Oct. 9, has maximum sustained winds of 100 mph. According to the National Weather Service, storm surges of 9 to 12 ft could hit the coast from Apalachicola to Cedar Key, Fla. Additionally, up to 12 in. of rain may fall in Florida’s Panhandle and Big Bend areas, southeastern Alabama and southern Georgia. Further north, parts of the Carolinas and southern Virginia could see up to 6 in. of rain, as reported by CNN.

According to The New York Times, a hurricane warning is in effect from the Alabama-Florida border to the Suwannee River in Florida. The storm’s landfall could range from Destin, Fla. to Apalachee Bay and the effects may be felt through Alabama and the Carolinas. In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott extended a state of emergency to 35 counties and activated 1,250 National Guardsmen. Evacuations are currently underway.

Hurricane Michael may pose a threat to Florida’s red tide, according to Dr. David Hastings, professor of marine science and chemistry at Eckerd College, as reported by local news source WTSP. Hastings predicts two potential impacts on the toxic red tide: storm winds could push the tide farther from the coast or heavy rains could inundate the Gulf’s waters with more nutrients, exacerbating the red tide.

“The heavy rain will dilute farm and agriculture areas of all the nutrients, nitrates, phosphates and rain them into the beaches and coastal areas that serve to fertilize the red tide, exactly what we don’t want,” Hastings said. “If there are a lot of nutrients released into the water from the heavy rain, it would be a bad thing and it doesn’t matter how close the storm is. I think it’s a possibility.”