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Isaias Intensifies, Gulf Coast Braces for Hurricane Landfall
Confirmed
In Short: Hurricane Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, is expected to make landfall in the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama, and southern Mississippi late Friday or early Saturday, prompting evacuations and shutdowns.
Hurricane Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, intensified into a Category 2 storm as it approached the northern Gulf Coast, prompting evacuations and shutdowns in Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. The storm is forecast to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday, bringing dangerous conditions and potential damage to the region.
As of Thursday morning, Isaias was packing maximum sustained winds of nearly 130 km/h (80 mph) with higher gusts, surpassing the 96 mph (154 kph) threshold for a Category 2 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm was about 460 miles south-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.
The National Hurricane Center warned that Isaias could strengthen further before approaching the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday. Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center, said in a Thursday morning update that the storm could reach near-major hurricane strength by Friday as it pounds north of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urged residents in the Panhandle to heed evacuation orders and prepare for power outages and flooding. The storm is forecast to strike Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi with up to 10 inches of rain this weekend, prompting governors across the Gulf Coast to join forecasters in urging residents to prepare for potential storm damage and prolonged power outages.
The storm's impact on the oil and gas industry is significant, with oil and gas producers shutting down a substantial share of offshore production in the US Gulf, which accounts for almost 15 percent of crude pumped annually in the US. As of Wednesday, about 25 percent of the oil production in the region had been temporarily halted, taking about 511,000 barrels a day off the market, according to the Marine Minerals Administration.
Jim Burkhard, global head of crude oil market research for S&P Global Energy, noted that the production cuts are steep enough to affect markets, though other Gulf hurricanes have caused larger disruptions. The hurricane had maximum sustained winds around 80 mph (129 kph) and was moving east-northeast at 9 mph (15 kph) early Thursday morning.
On Dauphin Island, a 15-mile (24-kilometer) barrier island off the Alabama coast, officials encouraged voluntary evacuations, particularly on its popular western section, which is vulnerable to storm surge. The storm is forecast to make landfall between Biloxi, MS and Panama City, FL on Friday evening with wind speeds of 95-105 mph, and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency said Isaias would rapidly drop to tropical storm-force winds of 65 mph soon after landfall very early Saturday morning.
The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, through Indian Pass in the northwestern part of Florida in anticipation of torrential downpours and the substantial risk of localized flash and urban flooding. The storm is forecast to strike Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi with up to 10 inches of rain this weekend.
What this adds
The storm's formation marks the latest date for an Atlantic season’s first hurricane in 121 years, falling just short of the record set in 1905, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Background
Texas A&M University researchers are collaborating with local, state, and federal emergency partners to map storm-surge risks, identify vulnerable communities, and plan evacuation routes for Gulf Coast hurricanes.
The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, and these are known as the Gulf States.
The name Isaias has been used for two tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean:Hurricane Isaias (2020) – a Category 1 hurricane that caused extensive damage across the Caribbean and the East Coast of the United States. It also became the earliest ninth named storm on record in the Atlantic basin.
What's confirmed
- According to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center, the storm is forecast to make landfall in parts of the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi late Friday or early Saturday.
- It said eight of the Gulf’s 371 manned oil platforms had been evacuated.
- With oil prices already high, the production cuts are steep enough to affect markets, though other Gulf hurricanes have caused larger disruptions, said Jim Burkhard, global head of crude oil market research for S&P Global Energy.
- “We are expecting Isaias to be a dangerous hurricane when it makes landfall,” Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center, said in a Thursday morning update, adding that he expects “up to near-major hurricane strength” by Friday as the storm pounds north of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
- More concerning, he said, is whether Isaias strikes as a powerful storm near refineries.
What's still developing
- When Isaias was first declared a hurricane on Wednesday, it marked the latest date for an Atlantic season’s first hurricane in 121 years, falling just short of the record set in 1905, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
- A rainfall total of 3-6 inches is forecast with isolated peaks up to 10 inches.
- Hurricane warnings issued for Mobile and Baldwin counties, Alabama. 14 outlets told this the same way.
- Millions of Americans along the Gulf Coast are on high alert due to life-threatening conditions as Hurricane Isaias gains power and moves closer to land.
- The Atlantic is on pace for its quietest season since 2013, when only two hurricanes formed.
- SEE MORE: Latest Isaias forecast | Interactive Hurricane Radar The Florida Division of Emergency Management said State Emergency Response Team resources were being staged in Tallahassee and the Santa Rosa area for rapid deployment.
Sources
- Reuterslink
- Al Jazeeralink
- Arabnewslink
- Central Oregon Dailylink
- CityNews Vancouverlink
- News4JAXlink
- NewsCordlink
- Scripps Newslink
- WPEClink
- Wsfalink
- WarpBeat — background on Texas A&M Researchers Aid Gulf Coast Communities in Hurricane Planning link
- Wikipedia — background on Gulf Coast of the United States link
- Wikipedia — background on List of storms named Isaias link
- WVUE FOX 8 New Orleans — video link