The Terrifying Look Of Harvey Before It Hits The Texas Coast

Doha Madani

National Weather Service images of Hurricane Harvey, which grew into a dangerous Category 4 storm Friday night, show the chilling sight of a swirling blanket of impending disaster off the Gulf Coast.

Harvey, with sustained winds of 130 miles per hour, is expected to be the first Category 4 storm to make landfall in the United States since Hurricane Charley hit Florida’s Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte in 2004. Landfall was expected late Friday.

The National Hurricane Center predicted “life-threatening inundation.” Hurricane-force winds were expected to extend up to 35 miles from Harvey’s center, and tropical-storm-force winds were predicted to extend as far 140 miles, putting cities including Houston, Galveston and Corpus Christi at high risk. Rainfall on the storm’s projected path on the Texas Gulf Coast could total 15 to 30 inches.

The National Weather Service warned Category 4 storms can result in “catastrophic damage” to even well-built frame homes, while dwellings like mobile homes will almost certainly be destroyed.

President Donald Trump tweeted several warnings Friday for those affected to follow safety advice, and he assured those in the hurricane’s path that federal agencies would be ready for relief efforts.

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Waves pound the shore from approaching Hurricane Harvey on August 25, 2017 in Corpus Christi, Texas. 
Waves pound the shore from approaching Hurricane Harvey on August 25, 2017 in Corpus Christi, Texas. 
Residents board up the windows of a home ahead of in Jamaica Beach. 
Residents board up the windows of a home ahead of in Jamaica Beach. 
Sal Valerio walks near the bay waters as they churn from approaching Hurricane Harvey in Corpus Christi, Texas. 
Sal Valerio walks near the bay waters as they churn from approaching Hurricane Harvey in Corpus Christi, Texas. 
A sign on a business reads, 'Closed for Harvey', as people prepare in Corpus Christi.
A sign on a business reads, 'Closed for Harvey', as people prepare in Corpus Christi.
Monica Chavez waits for the approaching hurricane in Corpus Christi. 
Monica Chavez waits for the approaching hurricane in Corpus Christi. 
Cody Munds, Lee Martin and John Pezzi, left to right, fill sandbags in Corpus Christi. 
Cody Munds, Lee Martin and John Pezzi, left to right, fill sandbags in Corpus Christi. 
The bread section of a Walmart store is empty in Houston. 
The bread section of a Walmart store is empty in Houston. 
A road sign warns travelers of the the approaching Hurricane Harvey in Corpus Christi. 
A road sign warns travelers of the the approaching Hurricane Harvey in Corpus Christi. 
Customers wait in line to refuel at an HEB Fuel gas station in Houston. 
Customers wait in line to refuel at an HEB Fuel gas station in Houston. 
Bottles of water and other drinks sit in a nearly emptied shelf at a Kroger Co. grocery store in Houston.
Bottles of water and other drinks sit in a nearly emptied shelf at a Kroger Co. grocery store in Houston.
A gas pump is covered with an out of service message as fuel ran out in Houston. 
A gas pump is covered with an out of service message as fuel ran out in Houston. 
A unidentified woman looks over bare refrigerator shelves in a Walmart in Houston.
A unidentified woman looks over bare refrigerator shelves in a Walmart in Houston.
TEXAS, Aug. 25, 2017 -- An employee holds a sign showing water has sold out in a chained market in Houston, the United States, Aug. 24, 2017. The populations in the southern part of Texas are preparing for significant impacts from Hurricane Harvey as it is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 Hurricane from the Gulf of Mexico on Friday. (Xinhua/Liu Liwei via Getty Images)

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.