Hurricane Isaias surges toward Gulf Coast
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Residents from Alabama to portions of the Florida Panhandle should prepare for long-term power outages. The situation in Pensacola on Thursday.
Isaias has strengthened into the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, and evacuation guidance has been issued in Alabama and Florida before its expected landfall on Friday night. Isaias is expected to lash the central Gulf Coast and parts of the Southeast with heavy rain and destructive winds,
Isaias has the potential to bring damaging winds, long-duration power outages, flash flooding, deadly storm surge and tornadoes to the coast. Inland areas in Alabama won’t get off that easy, either, and could face power outages, flash flooding and tornadoes as the storm moves northward over the state.
As of the NHC’s 11 a.m. Thursday advisory, the center of Hurricane Isaias is about 500 miles south-southwest of the Pensacola. Smoothing out wobbles, Isaias has been steadily mo
According to Ms. Wall, memories of Hurricane Sally, a Category 2 storm that made landfall in Gulf Shores, Ala., in September 2020, have pushed people to be ready for Hurricane Isaias. Hurricane Sally took a circuitous route along the coast, dropping significant rain and battering the coast with storm surge.
The National Hurricane Center initiated advisories -- and the all-important track maps -- on Tropical Depression Nine on Tuesday afternoon. Forecasters said the depression could become Tropical Storm Isaias (pronounced ees-ah-EE-ahs) by Wednesday and then the first hurricane of 2026 on Thursday as it tracks northward toward the Gulf Coast.
Free sand for sandbags was offered at eight locations, and a Pensacola hardware store sold out of generators before noon Thursday.
Hurricane Isaias is expected to continue to intensify before making landfall late Friday or early Saturday. See latest update from Hurricane Center.