PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Residents across the U.S. Gulf Coast closed windows and collected last-minute supplies Friday as Isaiah reinforced in one major hurricane and fought his way to the Alabama-Florida line.
THE Category 3 hurricane – the first of one unusually calm Atlantic season – is expected to make landfall Friday evening and bring significant storm surge, damaging winds, flooding and maybe even tornadoes before dispersing strong winds and rain well north to Atlanta.
Isaiah is expected to land between Mobile Bay, on the Alabama coast, and the city of Destin, in the Florida Panhandle, an area known for its powdery white sand beaches dotted with vacation homes, waterfront bars and seafood shacks.
Many will brave the storm at home
Anne Petzold, who lives with her husband in the beach community of Gulf Breeze, said Friday that they and all their neighbors were planning to ride out the storm. The couple installed hurricane shutters, put away anything in their yard that could become a projectile, stocked up on food and water and prepared two generators in case the power went out.
“Everyone is doing what they can, everyone is asking if they need help – they’re asking for help, they’re offering help. It’s all good,” she said. “It’s just another adventure.”
Neighbor Jay Brazzell said he filled up his car and made sure he would have enough water, but decided to stay put because Isaias is not as powerful as other hurricanes he has experienced.
“I mean, I’m not going to board,” Brazzell, 69, said. “This being the case, I have passed through the ninth hurricane.”
Hazardous conditions are expected throughout the Western Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi, the National Hurricane Center said. Rain began falling along the coast Friday morning and tropical storm force winds were expected by early afternoon.
Storm surge of up to 6 to 9 feet (1.8 to 2.7 meters) is likely in some coastal areas, according to the hurricane center. Locations most at risk include Pensacola Beach in Florida and the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned residents to expect flooding, wind damage, power outages and gasoline shortages.
“When the water rises and things happen, it’s a very, very difficult conundrum and you don’t want to get stuck in it,” he said.
The hurricane center said Friday morning that time was running out to make preparations “as the weather will deteriorate rapidly today.”
As of noon, the storm was centered about 155 miles (255 kilometers) south of Pensacola and moving north-northeast, the center said. It was experiencing sustained winds of 120 mph (193 km/h) Friday morning and was gaining speed. Category 3 storms are considered a major hurricane and are capable of causing damage.
The whole area could be drenched
Once Isaiah If the storm makes landfall, it is expected to weaken until it is downgraded to a tropical storm Saturday afternoon, the hurricane center said.
Still, heavy rain is forecast as it moves inland, with 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) or more through the weekend from southern Alabama to southwest Georgia.
Isaias, which will be the first hurricane to hit the eastern United States since Milton which tore apart Florida’s Gulf Coast in 2024, is also expected to bring heavy rain and potential flooding to much of the Southeast over the weekend and then to parts of the Midwest and Northeast through Monday.
Evacuations were ordered
A hurricane warning was in place from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the western Florida Panhandle.
The preparations have been going on for days. THURSDAY, residents boarded up the windows and sandbags piled high as thousands of National Guard troops were deployed.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday ordered non-residents to immediately evacuate Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Dauphin Island. Videos posted on social media showed traffic at a standstill on a highway leading to Gulf Shores, where double-red beach flags signaled that access to the water was closed.
Several counties announced mandatory evacuations for some coastal areas while Florida and Alabama declared states of emergency for dozens of counties.
On Dauphin Island, a barrier island off the Alabama coast, Mayor Jeff Collier said he didn’t anticipate substantial damage, “but at the same time, these things are very fickle and a little jog here or there, or a last-minute surge in force — we just have to prepare for the worst.”
Meanwhile in the Pacific, Hurricane Simon became a category 2 hurricane on Friday and is expected to strengthen further before making landfall in Mexico this weekend.
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Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut, and Bates reported from Gulf Breeze, Florida. These Associated Press journalists also contributed: Gerald Herbert in Pensacola, Fla.; Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Ala.; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Hallie Golden in Seattle; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; and Laura Turbay in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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