Hurricane Isaias strengthened into a powerful Category 3 storm Friday morning as it moved rapidly toward the US Gulf Coast.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said data collected by an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft showed that Isaias had become a major hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.
Hurricane warnings are in effect across parts of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, where Isaias threatens 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 Florida and Alabama as residents prepare for the approaching storm.
The NHC forecast a US landfall late Friday, with Isaias expected to come ashore somewhere between the Mississippi coast and Florida’s Panhandle.
The hurricane is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge, destructive winds, heavy rainfall and the possibility of tornadoes to the Southeast later Friday and into Saturday.
“Preparations should be rushed to completion as the weather will go downhill quickly today,” the NHC said Friday.
Isaias rapidly intensified in the Gulf on Wednesday night, becoming the latest first hurricane of a season since satellite tracking began in 1960.
Hurricane Isaias strengthened into a Category 3 storm as it moved toward the United States
Hurricane warnings cover parts of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi as Isaias threatens damaging winds, flooding and widespread power outages. Louisiana is under tropical storm and storm surge warnings
Hurricane Hunter aircraft reported that the center of Isaias was about 240 miles south-southwest of Pensacola, Florida, as the storm continued its steady advance toward the northern Gulf Coast.
Forecast models placed Isaias approximately 30 miles south of Pensacola Beach at 7 p.m. ET Friday.
The storm was expected to weaken before making landfall as a Category 2 hurricane.
Meteorologist Matt Devitt wrote on X: “Hurricane preps need to be completed this morning. If told to evacuate, please do so.”
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Public flight-tracking data also showed US Navy aircraft leaving the Gulf Coast on Friday.
Storm surge—the seawater driven inland by a hurricane’s powerful winds—was identified as one of the storm’s greatest dangers.
In vulnerable coastal areas between the Alabama-Florida border and Grayton Beach, Florida, water levels could rise 6 to 9 feet above normally dry ground if the strongest surge arrives at high tide.
Large and dangerous waves could intensify the flooding. Coastal sections of Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as Mobile Bay, could see 3 to 5 feet of water above ground level.
Residents were warned to prepare for life-threatening conditions as the hurricane approached. Men in Florida are shown securing a home
Grocery store shelves were left bare as residents stocked up on supplies before the hurricane arrived
People are grabbing sand to hopefully minimize flooding from Hurricane Isaias
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.