Hurricane Isaias live tracker: Major Category 3 storm strengthening before making landfall along Gulf Coast; evacuations ordered in Alabama and Florida

Hurricane Isaias is expected to bring heavy rain, damaging winds and life-threatening storm surge to the northern Gulf Coast when it makes landfall late Friday or early Saturday.According to the National Hurricane Center, Isaias is now Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, which forecasters consider a “major hurricane.”As of 1 p.m. ET, the storm was located about 160 miles south of Pensacola, Fla., and roughly 130 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi. It is expected to approach the northern Gulf Coast this afternoon and make landfall near the Alabama-Florida state line tonight. The governors of Florida, Alabama and Georgia have declared states of emergency, along with several Mississippi counties. Thousands of National Guard soldiers are being deployed.Is the storm headed your way? Follow it in real time on the new Yahoo Weather app.Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for parts of Florida's Walton, Escambia, Okaloosa and Franklin counties. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey also ordered nonresidents to evacuate Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Dauphin Island.Heavy rain and flooding could extend as far north as Tennessee and North Carolina through the weekend. There’s also a risk of tornadoes across the Florida Panhandle into southern Georgia.Follow live updates on Hurricane Isaias below.