Hurricane Isaias strengthens as US Gulf Coast prepares for landfall

Evacuations were ordered in coastal areas of Florida and Alabama as communities prepare for flooding and power outages. (EPA Images pic) MIAMI: Hurricane Isaias strengthened on Thursday as it barreled toward the US Gulf Coast, prompting mandatory evacuations in parts of Florida and emergency declarations in Alabama as forecasters warned of life-threatening storm surges, tornadoes and flooding.

The first Atlantic hurricane of the 2026 season was packing maximum sustained winds of 140 kph early on Thursday, the US National Hurricane Center said. Isaias was forecast to strengthen to near Category 3 intensity, with sustained winds reaching 175 kph on Friday before reaching the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday.

"We are expecting Isaias to be a dangerous hurricane when it makes landfall,” NHC director Michael Brennan said in a Thursday morning briefing. "Today is the day to prepare and get ready."

Isaias nearly tied the record for the latest first Atlantic hurricane with one that hit on Oct 8, 1905. The strong El Nino weather pattern this year has suppressed Atlantic hurricane development by increasing vertical wind shear, which disrupts the formation of strengthening tropical storms.

The hurricane was moving east-northeast at 17 kph, about 570km south of the mouth of the Mississippi River at 1pm US Central time, the NHC said.

Warnings, storm surges

Hurricane warnings stretched from coastal Mississippi through Alabama to the Florida panhandle, while tropical-storm and storm-surge warnings extended into southeastern Louisiana, the NHC said.

Forecasters warned that storm surges could reach 1.5 to 2.1 meters above sea level in the hardest-hit coastal areas, with rainfall of 8 to 18 cm and isolated totals of 38cm.

The hurricane was forecast to weaken somewhat as it approached land. Increasing vertical wind shear, which can disrupt a hurricane's circulation, was expected to limit its strength near landfall, though forecasters warned it would remain dangerous.

Evacuations ordered

In Florida, officials ordered mandatory evacuations beginning at noon local time on Thursday for coastal areas of Okaloosa County.

The county urged tourists to leave the area and announced plans to close three airports Thursday evening. Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 25 Florida counties earlier in the week.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency covering 40 counties, while officials on Dauphin Island issued an evacuation notice for the western portion of the barrier island beginning Thursday evening.

Baldwin County, Alabama, encouraged residents of low-lying coastal areas to evacuate voluntarily and prepared emergency shelters.

In Mississippi, Jackson County and the city of Gautier declared local emergencies as coastal communities prepared for flooding and power outages.