Hurricane Isaias is closing in on the northern Gulf Coast as a major hurricane, with forecasters expecting landfall late tonight between Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle. Maximum sustained winds have reached about 120 miles per hour, making Isaias a Category 3 storm, and officials are warning that the most dangerous conditions will arrive well before the center crosses the shoreline.
Heavy rain bands are already pushing onshore, with gusts above 40 miles per hour reported along the coast and stronger winds measured near the eyewall. A tornado watch is in effect until this evening for the Florida Panhandle, extreme southern Georgia and southeast Alabama, as the storm’s outer bands spin up quick-hitting tornadoes with little warning. Life-threatening storm surge is expected along low-lying coastal roads, bays and sounds as onshore winds strengthen through the afternoon.
State emergency teams, search-and-rescue units and power restoration crews have been staged across vulnerable northern counties, according to officials in Florida. Evacuation traffic clogged Interstate 10 in Alabama’s Baldwin County overnight as residents moved inland. Forecasters stress that official landfall — the moment the surface center of the eye crosses the coast — is a technical milestone, not the start of danger, because the eyewall’s worst winds and surge extend dozens of miles outward.
Isaias is expected to spread heavy rain and wind inland over the Southeast through the weekend. Residents in the warning area are being urged to finish preparations immediately, keep multiple ways to receive alerts, and move to a safe room if a tornado warning is issued for their area. This story is developing and will be updated as conditions change.
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