Hurricane Isaias forecast to intensify before landfall on northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday

The Story

Hurricane Isaias moved toward the U.S. Gulf Coast on Thursday and was forecast to intensify rapidly before making landfall on the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The hurricane was expected to bring strong winds and a life-threatening storm surge to the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi, with heavy rain and a risk of flooding possibly extending into the weekend as far inland as the Tennessee Valley.

As of early Thursday morning, Isaias had maximum sustained winds around 80 mph (129 kph) and was moving east-northeast at 9 mph (15 kph), the National Hurricane Center said. It was centred about 420 miles (676 kilometres) south-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Local preparations included evacuations, cancelled classes and emergency declarations. Okaloosa County, Florida announced mandatory evacuations for some coastal areas, and at least four Florida school districts cancelled classes for later in the week.

Governors in Florida and Alabama declared a state of emergency for dozens of counties, and the National Weather Service told communities from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to Gulf County, Florida, to prepare for the possibility of long-duration power outages.

The hurricane formed late in the Atlantic hurricane season, and it was noted as being one day short of tying a 121-year-old record for the area’s latest-forming hurricane. The record dates to 1905, when the year’s first Atlantic hurricane formed on Oct. 8.

The storm’s timing comes amid unusually quiet Atlantic conditions attributed to a strong El Niño, which disrupts storm formation over the Atlantic.

Ahead of Isaias, oil and gas production in the Gulf was reduced. By Wednesday, about 25% of production was temporarily halted, taking about 511,000 barrels a day off the market, according to the Marine Minerals Administration. The agency said eight of the Gulf’s 371 manned oil platforms were evacuated.

Officials in both states issued further guidance for residents in vulnerable areas. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency for 40 counties, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared one for 25 counties in the Panhandle and Big Bend regions.

City and utility preparations were also underway, including pre-positioning crews in Pensacola to repair power outages, distribution of sand for residents to fill sandbags, and urging residents to check on older neighbours and others who might need help. Mayor D.C. Reeves said in a news conference that there was no need to panic at that point and that the focus was on preparation.