Hurricane Isaias threatens northern Gulf Coast with heavy rain, flooding. See maps, forecast path.

Hurricane Isaias was intensifying early Thursday and is expected to make landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday, threatening parts of Mississippi, Alabama and the western part of the Florida Panhandle. It became the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season after strengthening from a tropical storm late Wednesday night.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the northern Gulf Coast, from the Mississippi-Alabama state line, across southern Alabama, to Panama City, Florida.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for more than two dozen counties in his state, and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued a state of emergency for 40 counties. 

Maps show hurricane’s path

Isaias, pronounced “ees-ah-EE-ahs,” had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph at 11 a.m. ET, and its core was located about 380 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 15 miles from the storm’s center, and tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 90 miles.

“Additional strengthening is expected through early Friday, and Isaias should remain a dangerous hurricane as it approaches the northern Gulf Coast on Friday night,” the center said, emphasizing that “preparations to protect life and property from storm surge and damaging winds along the warning area of the Gulf Coast should be rushed to completion.”

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in parts of Florida’s Okaloosa County, in the panhandle, which were set to take effect Thursday at 12 p.m. ET.  Voluntary evacuations were in place for coastal spots in southeastern Alabama, with officials in the city of Gulf Shores urging non-residents to leave the area to “help reduce congestion, support emergency operations, and ensure the safety of those who may be most vulnerable during the storm.”

Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier told CBS News on Thursday that his biggest concern for the coastal Alabama community was whether its residents and visitors would heed official warnings. 

“Because what inevitably happens is people hear the warnings, but they don’t actually take any action until it’s much too late,” Collier said. “And oftentimes if it’s really bad, first responders can’t get out to people until things calm down a bit.”

Along with the hurricane warning, a tropical storm warning was issued from the southeast corner of Louisiana to Biloxi, Mississippi, plus in and around Apalachicola, Florida. A storm surge warning was issued from the mouth of the Mississippi River in southeastern Louisiana, across the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, into the Florida Panhandle. A storm surge watch was also in effect for parts of Florida’s Big Bend region, along the Gulf Coast.

The hurricane center forecasts 3 to 7 inches of rain and as much as 15 inches in some places along the coast from southeastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle. Much of the Southeast, and as far north as the Tennessee Valley and the Carolinas, could see heavy rainfall.

Forecasters said rain could cause flooding, including in urban areas and around rivers, “some of which could be significant.” Tornadoes may also materialize Friday night into Saturday in coastal parts of Alabama, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle, they added.

The latest for a first hurricane since 1905

Isaias’ progression into a hurricane on Wednesday marked the latest date in 121 years for the Atlantic season’s first hurricane to develop, just missing a record set on Oct. 8, 1905, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data. 

The season, which has been unusually quiet in the Atlantic this year, runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.  

An Atlantic hurricane season typically produces, on average, 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes, according to the hurricane center, which used climate data collected between 1991 and 2020 to calculate those figures. A season’s first named storm normally forms in mid- to late-June, while the first hurricane tends to form in early- to mid-August, and the first major hurricane often comes in late August or early September.

Forecasters predicted there would be less Atlantic storm activity than usual this year, but so far it has been even quieter than anticipated. Meteorologists say that’s largely due to the onset of a strong El Niño over the summer, which typically correlates with cooler water temperatures and greater fluctuations in wind patterns over the Atlantic, conditions that dampen the growth of tropical systems. The Pacific, meanwhile, has seen an unusually active series of hurricanes.