Updated October 9, 2026 at 10:13 AM MDT
Hurricane Isaias is packing on more power thanks to warm water in the Gulf of Mexico, growing into a Category 3 storm on Friday. The National Hurricane Center says the storm is heading toward the Alabama-Florida border area, with landfall expected Friday night.
Dire predictions of a deep storm surge, heavy rainfall and strong winds have all increased in the past 24 hours.
"This is a life-threatening situation," the National Hurricane Center said in its morning advisory, urging people to complete preparations to protect lives and property, and to follow evacuation orders where they're issued.
As of 11 a.m. ET Friday, Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, making it a major storm (the designation for Category 3 and above). The hurricane was about 195 miles south of Pensacola, Fla., heading north-northeast at 16 mph.
Forecasters expect Isaias to weaken shortly before it reaches the coast, thanks to wind shear conditions that disrupt cyclones — but it will remain a dangerous storm.
Officials are urging people to finish preparing for Hurricane Isaias' arrival and to leave areas prone to flooding and other perils. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stressed on Friday morning 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 said at a news conference. "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 extends along the Gulf Coast from Ocean Springs, Miss., eastward to the area around Mexico Beach in Florida.
If the storm surge peaks during high tide, it could hit the coastline from the Alabama-Florida border to Grayton Beach, Fla., with 6 to 9 feet of water, according to the hurricane center. A broader area could see a surge well over 4 feet. 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. Those warning numbers have all increased as the storm has gained strength.
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."
Isaias has also been adding forward speed, and forecasters say the storm will move quickly inland after making landfall. That means it could bring heavy rainfall and strong winds far from the shore.
Warning of likely power outages, DeSantis said that some 16,000 utility workers are standing by to help restore electricity service. The Florida National Guard will also have approximately 5,000 personnel available to help the recovery effort, he said.
In the Florida Panhandle, many schools and commercial airports are 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 has declared a state of emergency for 40 counties; DeSantis has done 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.
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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