Hurricane Delta hits Category 4 as it heads for Yucatan, Gulf Coast

Hurricane Delta rapidly strengthened to become a Category 4 storm Tuesday afternoon, with winds measuring 130 miles per hour as it heads toward Mexico and the Gulf Coast.

Delta is expected to hit Mexico's Yucatan peninsula early Wednesday morning, bringing "extremely dangerous storm surge" as early as Tuesday night, the National Hurricane Center warned. Heavy rainfall, leading to potential flash flooding and mudslides, could hit the Cayman Islands, western Cuba, and the northern Yucatan.

Delta will then likely curve away from Mexico and toward Louisiana, picking up strength as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico. Ahead of Delta's arrival in the U.S., heavy rainfall is expected throughout the Gulf Coast, Tennessee Valley, and southeastern U.S. And when Delta arrives on Friday, it could bring "life-threatening storm surge and dangerous hurricane-force winds," especially along the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts, per the NHC.

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Cancun and other parts of the Yucatan were already dealing with soaking rains from Tropical Storm Gamma on Tuesday as Mexico evacuated tourists and residents to inland shelters, The Associated Press reports. Delta comes at the end of a busy Atlantic hurricane season, which used up the World Meteorological Organization's alphabetical storm names for only the second time in history.