(AP) – Hurricane Delta emerged into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday and headed toward Louisiana after making landfall just south of the Mexican resort of Cancun, toppling trees and cutting power to residents of the Yucatan peninsula’s resort-studded coast.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Delta had weakened to a Category 1 storm by late afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph), but it was expected to gain strength again before lashing the U.S. Gulf coast.

Delta could make landfall, possibly as a Category 3 storm, sometime Friday south of Morgan City, Louisiana.