Hurricane Isaias intensifies to Category 3 storm as emergency evacuations ordered and Gulf Coast braces for devastation
Hurricane Isaias intensified into a powerful Category 3 storm Friday morning as it barrels toward the US.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said: ‘Just-received data from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that Isaias has strengthened to a major hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.’
Hurricane warnings are in effect for parts of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi as Isaias approaches, threatening damaging winds, flooding and widespread power outages. Louisiana is under tropical storm and storm surge warnings.
Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for dozens of coastal counties in Alabama and Florida.
The NHC predicts a US landfall late Friday, hitting between the Mississippi coast and the Florida Panhandle.
Isaias will bring life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds, flooding rain and a chance of tornadoes to the Southeast later today and Saturday.
‘Preparations should be rushed to completion as the weather will go downhill quickly today, the NHC said on Friday.
Hurricane Isaias erupted in the Gulf Wednesday night, breaking the record for the latest arrival of a season’s first hurricane since satellite tracking began in 1960.
Hurricane Isaias has reached Category 3 storm as it barrels toward the US
Hurricane warnings are in effect for parts of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi as Isaias approaches, threatening damaging winds, flooding and widespread power outages. Louisiana is under tropical storm and storm surge warnings
Hurricane Hunter aircraft said the center of Isaias is about 240 miles south-southwest of Pensacola, Florida, as the system continues its steady push toward the northern Gulf Coast.
Forecasts place Isaias roughly 30 miles south of Pensacola Beach at 7pm ET tonight.
It is predicted to make landfall as a weaker Category 2 hurricane.
Meteorologist Matt Devitt said on X: ‘Hurricane preps need to be completed this morning. If told to evacuate, please do so.’
Public flight data also captured US Navy aircraft fleeing the Gulf Coast on Friday .
One of the biggest threats is storm surge, seawater pushed inland by the hurricane’s winds.
Water could rise 6 to 9 feet above normally dry ground in vulnerable coastal areas between the Alabama-Florida border and Grayton Beach, Florida, if the strongest surge coincides with high tide.
Large, dangerous waves could make the flooding even more destructive. Parts of the Louisiana and Mississippi coastline, along with Mobile Bay, could see 3 to 5 feet of flooding above ground.
Locals have been warned to prepare for life-threatening conditions. Above are men reading a home in Florida for the hurricane
Grocery store shelves have been left bare as locals stock up on supplies ahead of the hurricane
Flood depths can vary sharply over short distances, so residents should check local forecasts rather than rely on a regional estimate.
Southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend, and southwestern Georgia are forecast to receive 4 to 8 inches of rain through the weekend.
Some locations in the Panhandle and Big Bend could receive up to 15 inches, raising the risk of flooded streets, homes and rivers.
The danger will extend inland, with heavy rain spreading across much of the Southeast.
Tornadoes are also possible from late Friday afternoon into the night in coastal Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and far southwestern Georgia, with the threat spreading into more of Georgia and the Carolinas on Saturday.
Along the Gulf Coast, dangerous surf and rip currents could make entering the water life-threatening, even far from where the hurricane makes landfall.
