Southern states hit by Hurricane Isaias' outer bands as life-threatening surge triggers evacuations
Pensacola, Florida - Hurricane Isaias' outer bands were lashing the Gulf Coast with heavy rain and strong winds Friday, with the Category 3 storm triggering mandatory evacuations and poised to bring life-threatening storm surge when it makes landfall Friday night.
Isaias is the first hurricane of an Atlantic season that kicked off in June, held in check by a historic El Niño phenomenon that typically spurs more major storms in the Pacific.
Fueled by record-warm Gulf waters heated by climate change, it underwent rapid intensification and is set to become the first hurricane to strike the mainland since Milton in 2024.
Caravans of trucks equipped with extendable booms and man-carrying buckets were rolling through Pensacola and Navarre to staging areas in preparation for power outages, AFP reporters on the scene said. Local businesses were closed, and water service to buildings was suspended.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Isaias was packing maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour and was located about 90 miles south of Pensacola.
Forecasters expect Isaias to slam into the western Florida panhandle at or near major hurricane strength before weakening over land.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told a press briefing it was expected to make landfall around 11 PM.
"We've got a massive amount of supplies and personnel ready to respond once the storm hits," he said, urging people to keep their own supplies of fuel, water and non-perishable food.
President Donald Trump cancelled his visit to Saturday's college football game between the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama because of Hurricane Isaias.
Mandatory evacuation orders are in effect in several Florida counties, but impacts are expected across a swathe of the southeastern United States, with hurricane-force winds up to 100 miles inland.
Storm surge combined with the tide is expected to flood normally dry areas, with the NHC warning that water could reach as high as nine feet around the Alabama-Florida border. Heavy rainfall could trigger flash flooding and push rivers over their banks.
Two airports in northwestern Florida have suspended operations.
Isaias's late arrival is largely due to an El Nino of historic strength. El Nino, the warm phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), creates strong vertical wind shear over the Atlantic that tends to tear storms apart.
Cover photo: RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP