Hurricane Isaias could reach Category 3 this morning as it nears landfall on the Gulf Coast.
Although forecasts call for the storm to weaken slightly before making landfall, it is still expected to make landfall as a hurricane late Friday or early Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service, which offers a suite of forecasts and storm tracking charts online at the National Hurricane Center website.
As of 5 a.m. ET Friday, Hurricane Isaias has maximum sustained winds of 110 mph and is moving north-northeast at 15 mph. It is located about 200 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River, according to NHC projections.
The National Hurricane Center’s forecast cone shows the storm turning northward today as it approaches the Gulf Coast.
Crushable speed of light
Most Spaghetti models predict the storm will make landfall between Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida, according to the storm tracking site Cyclocane. It is important to remember that the affected areas are much larger than the plotted points of a spaghetti model.
Hurricane warnings are in place from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the borders of Bay and Gulf County, Florida, with tropical storm warnings extending even further east and west of the storm’s path. A storm surge warning is in effect between the mouth of the Mississippi River and the Suwannee River.
A Spaghetti model is a set of storm tracking forecasts that plot their predictions on the path of a storm, all overlaid on a map to provide an estimated visual track of the storm.
The latest forecasts, updated several times a day, can be followed online at the National Hurricane Center website.
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