‘Life-threatening’ Isaias, a major hurricane, starts to affect Gulf Coast

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A satellite image shows Hurricane Isaias as it approaches the Gulf Coast around 5 p.m. ET Friday. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hide caption

Hurricane Isaias made landfall Friday night near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 hurricane, packing 105 mph winds.

The National Hurricane Center said “life-threatening storm surge and devastating winds” were likely along the Florida Panhandle and Alabama coasts. The coastline from the Alabama-Florida border east to Grayton Beach, Fla., was expected to see 6 to 9 feet of water, according to the hurricane center. A broader area was forecast to see a surge of more than 4 feet.

Widespread power outages are expected, along with tornadoes and flash flooding as the storm moves inland Saturday. Rainfall totals over the weekend could reach 4 to 8 inches in parts of Alabama, Florida and Georgia, with up to 15 inches possible in some areas.

Isaias is the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, which has until now been dampened by a strong El Nino , a naturally occurring climate pattern. It is the first hurricane since 2024 to hit the U.S.

The storm is bringing strong winds, heavy rains, and threats of a deep storm surge to the northern Gulf Coast, the National Hurricane Center said.

“This is a life-threatening situation,” the National Hurricane Center said in its advisory, urging people to protect lives and property, and to follow evacuation orders.

Climate Super El Niño is here. What’s so super about it? Forecasters say wind conditions should start to weaken after landfall, with Isaias expected to be downgraded to a post-tropical storm on Saturday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday evening warned residents in the hurricane’s path and beyond to prepare for heavy rain and potential tornadoes.

“Assume you’re going to lose power,” he said at a news conference.

As of about 9 p.m., more than 460,000 customers had lost power across Alabama, Florida and Georgia, according to PowerOutage.US.

Gina Holland evacuates her home with her dog Cici in Pensacola, Fla., before the expected landfall of Hurricane Isaias. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

The governor earlier stressed that while well-designed buildings can withstand high winds, floodwaters present a serious threat to lives and property.

“We always say, you know, you hide from the wind, but you run from the water,” DeSantis told reporters Friday morning. “When the water’s rising and things are happening, it’s a very, very difficult conundrum, and you do not want to be caught in that.”

A hurricane warning extended along the Gulf Coast from Ocean Springs, Miss., eastward to the area around Mexico Beach in Florida.

Rainfall totals over the weekend could reach 4 to 8 inches in parts of Alabama, Florida and Georgia, with up to 15 inches possible in some areas.

Flash floods are a certainty, according to Jared Perdue, the executive director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management. “The Panhandle is already saturated from rainfall,” he said at Friday morning’s press conference alongside DeSantis. “This storm will bring heavy amounts of rain … there will be flash flooding, there will be localized flooding.”

DeSantis said that some 16,000 utility workers are standing by to help restore electricity service. The Florida National Guard also will have approximately 5,000 personnel available to help the recovery effort, he said.

Shelves were empty of bread in a Walmart store in Gulf Breeze, Fla., on Thursday, as people stocked up ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Isaias. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

In the Florida Panhandle, many schools and commercial airports were shut down, and mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders were in effect for parts of seven counties as of Friday morning. In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency for 40 counties; DeSantis did the same for 25 counties.

It has been more than 100 years since the Atlantic got its first hurricane of the season this late, as a “Super El Niño” weather pattern has disrupted the ability of cyclones to form. But the pattern has done less to affect storm formation in the Gulf, where very warm water has served as fuel for storms like Isaias.

Weather Isaias strengthens into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season Warm ocean water helps tropical storms build strength and draw in moisture, adding to their potential rainfall. Warmer sea surface temperatures are also linked to human-caused climate change, a critical factor in making hurricanes larger and more likely to bring intense winds and rainfall when they make landfall.

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