Isaias strengthens to Category 3 hurricane heading for Pensacola

FRIDAY
Residents along the U.S. Gulf Coast boarded up windows and picked up last-minute supplies on Friday as Isaias strengthened into a major hurricane and carved a path toward landfall tonight near Pensacola, Florida.

The storm was packing 120 mph winds Friday morning and picking up speed. Category 3 storms are considered major hurricanes and are capable of causing devastation.

As of mid-morning, the storm was centered about 240 miles south of Pensacola and moving to the north-northeast, the center said. Isaias is expected to make landfall around 9 p.m. between Mobile Bay on the Alabama coast and the city of Destin in the Florida Panhandle.

Dangerous conditions are expected throughout the western panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi, the National Hurricane Center said. Rain began falling along the coast Friday morning, and tropical storm conditions were expected by early afternoon.

A storm surge as high as 6 to 9 feet was predicted in some coastal areas, according to the hurricane center. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned residents Friday to expect power outages and shortages at gas stations along with flooding and wind damage.

The hurricane center said Friday morning that time was running out to make preparations “as the weather will go downhill quickly today.”

Once Isaias comes ashore, it is expected to weaken until it is downgraded to a tropical storm by Saturday afternoon, the hurricane center said.

Still, heavy rain was in the forecast as it moves inland, with 4 to 8 inches or even more expected through the weekend from southern Alabama to southwestern Georgia.

Hourly updates on Isaias' progress can now be seen at hurricanes.gov  .


THURSDAY
Isaias strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane as it barreled toward the U.S. Gulf Coast on Thursday, prompting orders for tourists to abandon beaches for safer spots inland, sending locals scurrying for gas and groceries and leading fishing crews to secure their boats before the potentially destructive storm’s arrival.

The first hurricane of the Atlantic season was forecast to intensify rapidly and cause dangerous conditions in the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi when it makes landfall late Friday or early Saturday. Heavy rain and flooding were possible into the weekend as far north as Tennessee and North Carolina.

“We are expecting Isaias to be a dangerous hurricane when it makes landfall,” said Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph, according to the hurricane center, surpassing the 96 mph threshold for a Category 2 storm.

Isaias was headed northeast at 13 mph and was centered about 290 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

A hurricane warning was in effect from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay-Gulf County line in Florida, the hurricane center said. 

Coastal communities moved quickly to prepare. Videos on social media showed traffic at a standstill on a highway leading out of Gulf Shores, where double-red beach flags signaled water access was closed.

The governors of Florida and Alabama declared states of emergency for dozens of counties, with Florida’s Ron DeSantis saying about 5,000 National Guard troops were expected to mobilize by Friday.

Water from the storm surge and high tide could reach heights of 5 to 7 feet in parts of Alabama and Mississippi, forecasters said. Isaias also could dump up to 15 inches of rain on coastal areas and spawn tornadoes overnight Friday into Saturday from Alabama to the Florida Panhandle and southwestern Georgia. The hurricane is expected to quickly weaken after coming ashore.

The National Weather Service warned of possible “long-duration power outages.”


(Photo NOAA via AP)