Hurricane Isaias reached Category 3 strength Friday, with sustained winds of 120 mph. Along the U.S. Gulf Coast, officials prepared for potentially life-threatening storm surges and high winds. The National Hurricane Center said Isaias should keep strengthening and warned that Category 3 hurricanes can cause devastating damage.
Storm Threat and Warnings
Forecasters expected Isaias to make landfall late Friday between Mobile Bay on the Alabama coast and Choctawhatchee Bay in the Florida Panhandle. The hurricane center warned that dangerous conditions could hit the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi. Rain began along the coast Friday morning, and tropical storm conditions were expected early in the afternoon.
The storm sat about 200 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, moving north at about 15 mph. Forecasters anticipated flash flooding and tornadoes, along with wind and storm surge. Surge levels could reach 5 to 7 feet, with the deepest water along immediate coastal areas, where large and dangerous waves were also expected.
A hurricane warning covered the coast from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the western Florida Panhandle. Tropical storm warnings stretched from southeastern Louisiana to the Aucilla River along Florida's Big Bend. Isaias was expected to weaken quickly after reaching shore, dropping to a tropical storm by Saturday afternoon as it moved north and inland along the Alabama-Mississippi line.
“Preparations should be rushed to completion as the weather will go downhill quickly today,” the hurricane center said in an early morning forecast. The center added: “While the storm is not expected to make landfall at peak intensity, it is likely that Isaias will still be a significant hurricane when it reaches the coast.”
Evacuations and Local Response
Residents had prepared for days. On Thursday, people boarded up windows and piled sandbags, while thousands of National Guard soldiers deployed. Long lines formed at gas stations in Mobile, Alabama, where residents filled containers, generators and cars with fuel. Crews handed out sandbags in Mobile, and an 88-member team prepared to leave Homestead, Florida, for Tallahassee to assist with emergency operations and storm relief.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey ordered non-residents to evacuate Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Dauphin Island immediately. Videos on social media showed traffic at a standstill on a highway leaving Gulf Shores. Double-red beach flags there signaled that people couldn't access the water. Several counties ordered mandatory evacuations in some coastal areas, and the governors of Florida and Alabama declared states of emergency for dozens of counties.
Florida's Ron DeSantis said about 5,000 National Guard troops were expected to mobilize by Friday. Officials encouraged voluntary evacuations on Dauphin Island, a 15-mile barrier island off the Alabama coast, especially in its popular western section, which faces storm surge risk.
Mayor Jeff Collier said he didn't anticipate substantial damage, but cautioned that “these things are very fickle and a little jog here or there, or some last-minute increase in strength — we just have to be prepared for the worst.”
Larry Smith boarded up his home in Dauphin Island ahead of the expected landfall. Daniel and Brand Harp, of Lebanon, Tennessee, packed their belongings to evacuate from Pensacola Beach Friday morning. Mike Howard and Joshua Brown boarded up Perdido Key Sports Bar in Perdido Key, Florida.
Atlantic Season Context
Isaias was the Atlantic season's first hurricane. After a season dominated by a supersized El Niño's “decapitating winds,” which had smothered storms before they could strengthen, a window of moderation opened. Isaias became the latest first Atlantic hurricane to form since 1914.
In the Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Simon formed as a tropical storm off Mexico on Wednesday, became a hurricane late Thursday and was forecast to strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane.