hurricane Isaiah The tropical storm intensified late Wednesday and is expected to make landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast this weekend, threatening parts of Mississippi, Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle. This is the first hurricane this year 2026 Atlantic Season.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in more than 20 counties in the state and mobilized resources to prepare for the possible severe impact of the storm, while Alabama Governor Kay Ivey issued a similar state of emergency for 40 counties.
A hurricane warning was issued for the northern Gulf Coast on Wednesday, from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, through Alabama to the Gulf/Gulf County line in Florida.
Isaias has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and is located about 460 miles southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Map showing hurricane path
Forecasters say they expect Hurricane Isaias (pronounced “ees-ah-EE-ahs”) to pass over Mexico’s northern Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday before moving toward the Gulf Coast on Friday. The hurricane center said the hurricane was expected to make landfall on the northern U.S. Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday.
Maps show the hurricane is expected to affect parts of Florida, Alabama and Georgia, bringing moderate to heavy rainfall to coastal areas and inland areas of the southeastern United States over the weekend and into next week.
In addition to the hurricane warning, a tropical storm warning was issued from the Jefferson/Plaquemines Parish line in Louisiana to Ocean Springs and from the Gulf/Gulf County line to the Oceola River in Florida. A storm surge warning was also issued from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Yankeetown, Florida, according to the hurricane center.
The hurricane center predicted 3 to 7 inches of rainfall, with up to 10 inches in parts of the central Gulf Coast from southeastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle. Forecasters said 1 to 5 inches of rain could fall across much of the Southeast and as far north as the Tennessee Valley and the Carolinas.
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Update on first hurricane since 1905
Isaias was upgraded to a hurricane on Wednesday, marking the latest date for the first hurricane to form in the Atlantic season in 121 years, just shy of the record set on Oct. 8, 1905, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This year’s Atlantic season is unusually quiet, running from June 1 to November 30.
The Atlantic hurricane season typically produces an average of 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes, according to the Hurricane Center, which calculated the numbers using climate data collected between 1991 and 2020. The first named storm of a season usually forms in mid- to late June, while the first hurricane tends to form in early to mid-August, and the first major hurricane usually forms in late August or early September.
Forecasters predict there will be less storm activity in the Atlantic this year than usual, but so far it’s been quieter than expected. Meteorologists say this is mainly due to Strong El Niño phenomenon In summer, this is often associated with cooler water temperatures and greater fluctuations in Atlantic wind patterns, conditions that inhibit the growth of tropical systems. At the same time, a series of unusually active hurricanes occurred in the Pacific.