Hurricane Isaias is just hours from landfall on Gulf Coast, where conditions are deteriorating quickly
By Mary Gilbert, Briana Waxman, CNN Meteorologists
Conditions are deteriorating quickly along the Gulf Coast with Hurricane Isaias, a ferocious Category 3 storm, only hours from making landfall. Thousands of residents are without power and the storm surge is already being felt.
Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in counties in Florida and Alabama, and several cities – including Mobile – are implementing curfews. More than 1.7 million people are under a tornado watch. President Donald Trump has canceled plans to attend the Alabama-Georgia football game Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
Isaias is expected to cause widespread power outages and disrupt travel, with some airports, bridges and rail services closing during the storm. Nearly three-quarters of the Gulf’s daily oil output has also been derailed.
Isaias is the first major hurricane in the Atlantic since Hurricane Melissa last October.
Increasing wind shear, which can disrupt a hurricane’s structure, is expected to weaken Isaias slightly before landfall late Friday, but the storm will remain a dangerous hurricane, potentially as strong as a high-end Category 2. Life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and over 12 inches of flooding rain are all expected along the Gulf Coast.
When it makes landfall, it will be the first time a hurricane has struck any US coastline in two years.
The last was Hurricane Milton. Milton made landfall on the west coast of Florida on October 9, 2024, as a Category 3 storm with 120 mph winds.
Up to 9 feet of storm surge and up to 15 inches of rain is possible at the coast, with tornadoes popping up with little notice.
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