Hurricane Nate has just began touching the coasts of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi this afternoon (October 7).

The fast-moving storm is expected to make landfall as a Category 2 storm later this evening southeast of New Orleans, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Sustained winds of 90 miles per hour are moving toward land at 25 mph, pounding Grand Isle and Port Sulphur Louisiana. At 2 p.m., the storm was still a Category 1 before the hurricane center issued its most recent update.

Pelican State Governor John Bel Edwards has issued a state of emergency and encourages residents to prepare for Nate as if it were a much stronger storm.

"Everyone who has been told to evacuate or would like to do so (should) do it now," he said earlier this afternoon.

The core of Nate is slated to make landfall tonight around Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana, the same location Hurricane Katrina destroyed over a decade ago.

Hurricane Nate is also slated to drop three to six inches of rain with 10 inches possible in some locations. It will move north potentially affecting the eastern Tennessee Valley and the southern Appalachians through Monday.

We'll keep you updated as the storm moves inland.