Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued as Hurricane Zeta menaces the Gulf Coast with damaging winds and a dangerous storm surge.

On Wednesday, Zeta churned in the Gulf of Mexico, packing maximum sustained winds of 90 mph and moving north at 18 mph. The system first formed southeast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula before moving toward shore as a hurricane. It later weakened into a tropical storm as it passed over the peninsula before exiting on Wednesday and restrengthening into a Category 1 hurricane.