The governor of Louisiana on Wednesday declared a state of emergency over a storm that’s already caused severe flooding in New Orleans.

The treacherous system, which is spinning in the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to make landfall in the Pelican State on Saturday, either as a tropical depression or as a tropical storm nicknamed “Barry.”

“No one should take this storm lightly,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a news conference, warning that the storm system could bring up to 15 inches of rain and brutal winds to parts of the state.

In the span of three hours on Wednesday, the weather event had already dumped 4 to 7 inches of rain on New Orleans, causing widespread flash flooding.

The system could become a tropical storm on the northern Gulf by Thursday night and a weak hurricane by Friday, forecasters said. If winds reach 39 mph, it would become a tropical storm.

Officials warned that if the hurricane lands close enough to New Orleans, it could bring a storm surge that raises the Mississippi River by 20 feet and flows over the levee that protects the city.

With Post wires