Hurricane Watches have been issued for parts of the northern Gulf Coast, as what is expected to become the season’s first hurricane threatens the Interstate 10 corridor.
Tropical Storm Isaias was last reported to be about 540 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River, with sustained winds of around 45 mph.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Isaias is expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday and become a Category 2 on Friday before making landfall over the weekend.
Due to increasing wind shear and dry air, Isaias is expected to rapidly weaken before landfall, which will occur near the Alabama-Florida border.
Hurricane Watches stretch from the Mississippi coastline eastward to south of Panama City, Florida, with Tropical Storm Watches in effect for much of southeastern Louisiana and the central Florida Panhandle.
Most watches will be upgraded to warnings once the event gets closer in time.
Computer models are in nearly unanimous agreement in taking the center of circulation toward the Alabama-Florida coastline, but of course, with any weather system, impacts can spread out hundreds of miles away from the center of circulation.
Communities in the Florida Panhandle should see the heaviest rainfall, the gustiest winds and the greatest threat for quick spin-up tornadoes, while those across the peninsula will see significantly less rainfall as bands of rain move through.
The greatest threat for hazardous weather will occur on Friday and Saturday, with drier weather entering the picture by the start of the upcoming workweek.
Rotating cells with tornadoes are most commonly found in the front-right quadrant of a cyclone, which could lead to twisters across parts of the Florida Panhandle.
Where heavier rain amounts occur, flooding could become problematic, especially in neighborhoods that saw heavy rainfall over the past weekend.
Due to the threat of hazardous weather, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 25 counties across the state.
The measure allows agencies more flexibility in preparing and responding to disasters.
If computer forecast models are correct, Isaias will likely be the last major threat of the hurricane season, which runs through November.
The 2026 hurricane season has set records for its inactivity, likely caused by the emergence of a strong El Niño and subsidence across a large part of the Atlantic basin.
The next named storm will be Josephine, but again, there are no signs of it forming over the next seven days.
