Hurricane Harvey is expected to hit the coast of Texas by Friday night as a Category 3 storm.
In addition to winds that have reached 125 miles per hour, Harvey is expected to dump between 15 and 30 inches of rain on much of Texas.
The projected rainfall is going to be so heavy, in fact, that the National Weather Service had to add an extra color to its scale to mark the areas expected to get 20+ inches of rain, the Washington Post reports.
The middle and upper part of the Texas coast could get as much as 40 inches of rain — more than 3 feet — according to forecasts as of 5 p.m. ET on Friday.
That rain could create major damage in Texas and Louisiana.
Jeff Masters, a meteorologist at The Weather Company and the co-founder of Weather Underground, told Business Insider that the damage could total as high as $10 billion, placing it among the most costliest storms in US history. The rain could break records.
"There is an unusual amount of moisture available to this storm, and it is large and powerful, so rainfall records could topple," he said.
SEE ALSO: Hurricane Harvey is expected to hit Texas today with 110-mph winds — here’s what you need to know
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Terrifying NASA footage from space shows the giant Hurricane Harvey about to slam the Texas coast