, the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, made landfall Friday around 8:30 p.m. as a powerful Category 2 hurricane, moving ashore near Destin, Florida, National Hurricane Center forecasters said.
The storm, which had maximum wind speeds of 105 mph, has been bearing down on the Gulf Coast, pushing life-threatening storm surge from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Florida Panhandle. Devastating winds and intense gusts were forecast for large swaths of the southeastern U.S.
Hurricane Isaias ultimately weakened to a Category 2 before landfall after intensifying earlier on Friday into a Category 3 hurricane.
But at landfall, forecasters still reported life-threatening storm surge, dangerous conditions and flash flooding.
Tropical storm conditions already reached the coastline earlier Friday, transforming dozens of popular beach towns into
Though it is forecast to further weaken and become a post-tropical storm by late Saturday, Isaias was still expected to bring up to 9 feet of storm surge along the panhandle and up to 6 feet of surge along the Alabama coastline. Officials have issued states of emergency in Florida, Alabama and Georgia.
Isaias is the 9th named storm of the year, but was the first to develop into both a hurricane and a major hurricane, considered to be a Category 3 or higher. It comes amid what has been considered a historically quiet season, fueled by the impacts of a .
Sightseers watch rough surf roll ashore near the pier in Pensacola Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, as Hurricane Isaias heads toward the coast. STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD
STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD
Storm impacts
Thousands of residents along the usually blissful Gulf Coast spent the week anxiously preparing for the storm’s arrival, clearing out grocery stores and gathering sandbags. Tourists who had planned visits to the area for the fall break season rushed to cancel trips ahead of landfall.
Forecasters said that the worst of the storm would hit Florida Panhandle cities east of the eyewall. Still, Alabama and Mississippi’s coasts were not in the clear, and the National Weather Service in Mobile said the storm could send high winds across southern Alabama that may down trees and spur power outages.
Much of the Gulf Coast is also at risk for tornadoes.
In Louisiana, impacts were expected to be minimal. Coastal flood advisories were in effect from Morgan City, up to the mouth of the Mississippi River and along the coast in Plaquemines, Orleans and Jefferson Parishes.
In New Orleans, flooding was reported on Lakeshore Drive east of Canal Boulevard, closing off the street Friday morning as winds from Isaias pushed water from Lake Pontchartrain onto land. related to the storm’s wind gusts were also briefly reported in the Mid-City and Navarre neighborhoods.
Staff writer Martha Sanchez contributed to this report.