Tropical Storm Barry, which is expected to be a hurricane at landfall Saturday, has continued to slowly move towards Louisiana, according to the 4 p.m. National Hurricane Center update.

As of 4 p.m., the storm was located 70 miles south-southeast of Morgan City and 110 miles west-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River, according to the update.

[7 P.M. FRIDAY UPDATE: Tropical Storm Barry 'meandering' in Gulf of Mexico, but will continue to move towards Louisiana]

While the projections for Barry have remained relatively stable, its surge is pushing the height of the Mississippi River up faster than expected, though forecasters say it will still crest lower than the levees in the New Orleans area.

The river has been watched closely during Barry's approach. At about 16 feet above sea level, the river was already far higher than is usual when a storm approaches and Barry's surge was expected to push it up to 19 feet near the Carrollton Gauge. That's just a foot below the minimum height of most river levees in the New Orleans area and above some low sections that have had to be shored up over the past days.

Flood protection officials have said they are confident they can hold back the river at that height, or even a bit higher.

That rise is coming more quickly than expected. The Mississippi is now just below 17 feet -- the height the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers uses as the the upper limit it tries to keep the river below -- and rising. It is now expected to briefly crest about 6 a.m. or 7 a.m., about six hours earlier than expected, said Jeff Graschel, a hydrologist with the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center.

"We'll still have the same crest for all locations, it'll maybe just be coming in a little sooner," Graschel said.

"We're pretty confident we're not looking any higher than 19 feet," he added.

Graschel said there was no definitive reason the river's rise was coming more quickly than expected.

"Each storm is unique and has its own characteristics and each event is a little different than the next event," he said.

Maximum sustained winds are currently at 65 mph. An oil rig that's southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River reported sustained winds of 75 mph and a wind gust of 85 mph.

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Barry continues to move west-northwest towards Louisiana at 6 mph, but forecasters anticipate the storm will move toward the northwest on Friday and then north on Saturday night or Sunday.

The slow movement of the storm will contribute to flash flooding and river flooding, which could be life threatening, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm will likely continue to strengthen before making landfall, but then should weaken after it moves inland, forecasters say.

There were no changes to any watches or warnings in effect for Louisiana, according to the new update.

Along the coast of southern and southeastern Louisiana and portions of Lake Pontchartrain, forecasters anticipate a danger of life-threatening storm surge inundation. The water has already started rising in some of these areas, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The water is expected to be the highest on Saturday. The area between Intracoastal City and Shell Beach will see the highest amount.

Parts of southeast Louisiana under hurricane or tropical storm watches could begin to see hurricane or tropical storm conditions tonight or early Saturday.

A couple tornadoes are possible tonight in southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi.

See more coverage of Tropical Storm Barry below

+15 The dual threat in New Orleans: How high river, Hurricane Barry mix for dire potential As wind gusted through a misty, intermittent drizzle in New Orleans Friday morning, Tropical Storm Barry continued to lumber toward the centra…