Hurricane Isaias, the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, intensified into a major Category 3 storm in the Gulf of Mexico and is tracking toward the southern United States, where it is expected to come ashore between Friday night and early Saturday, according to Infobae.
A special update from the National Hurricane Center put Isaias's maximum sustained winds at 193 kilometers per hour (120 mph), Infobae reports. Forecasters expect the storm to lose some strength before reaching the coast as wind shear increases, but they warn it will remain a dangerous hurricane.
The most likely landfall is near the Alabama-Florida border, with a potentially deadly storm surge expected in Pensacola Bay, according to Infobae.
Why it matters
Isaias is the first major Atlantic hurricane since Melissa last October, and its late arrival caps a season that had been unusually quiet. Infobae reports that meteorologists largely attribute the calm to El Niño, which is associated with wind patterns that make it harder for cyclones to develop over the Atlantic.
The storm also became the latest first hurricane of an Atlantic season in more than a century, according to Infobae. Before turning north, Isaias passed near the Yucatán Peninsula, where it forced classes to be suspended in at least 18 municipalities in southern Mexico and prompted ports in the Gulf to close.
Winds reach the coast as Alabama and Florida prepare
Tropical-storm-force winds from Isaias began moving inland along the Gulf Coast, the Associated Press reported, according to Infobae. As of 3 p.m. Friday, the center of the storm was about 200 kilometers south of Pensacola, Florida, and roughly 225 kilometers south of Mobile, Alabama. The hurricane was moving northeast at about 28 kilometers per hour, the National Hurricane Center said.
Apalachicola, Florida, recorded gusts of up to 69 kilometers per hour (about 43 mph), Infobae reports. The National Weather Service said conditions along the coast would deteriorate through the evening, with the northwest Florida coast facing the heaviest effects. The agency warned of rising sea levels, a heightened risk of flash flooding, possible tornadoes and dangerously strong winds over the coming hours.
Alabama is expected to take a severe hit. Even if the system weakens after landfall, forecasts call for sustained hurricane-force winds in parts of the state's south, along with gusts farther inland, according to Infobae.
In Gulf Shores, Alabama, the city planned to close the W.C. Holmes bridge and the State Route AL-161 South bridge at midday Central time as the hurricane approached, CNN reported, according to Infobae. The closures affect travel through the tourist area of Baldwin County near the Gulf beaches, and the bridges will not reopen until the storm passes and authorities decide it is safe to travel again. Local officials urged anyone who still needs to leave the area to do so immediately, before winds pick up and make movement difficult.
Gulf Shores also announced a citywide curfew from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., a measure intended to protect residents and keep streets clear for emergency and public safety crews, Infobae reports.
Governor Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency for 40 counties, activating the state's response plan ahead of winds of up to 193 kilometers per hour, storm surge of more than 2 meters and possible tornadoes along the Gulf Coast. The proclamation was signed Wednesday, October 7, and took effect at 4 p.m. Central time, according to Infobae. Tourists and visitors in coastal areas were told to leave immediately.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also warned about storm surge and potential power outages, Infobae reports. Airports in the state have closed and flight cancellations are mounting.
Hurricane hunters fly into the eye
While coastal communities braced for impact, hurricane hunter aircraft flew directly into the storm. Infobae describes the scene inside the cabin: the aircraft shakes, the crew is held in place by seatbelts, and a wall of clouds and rain erases the horizon outside the windows. The plane does not steer away from the storm — it flies into the heart of Isaias to measure from within a system whose maximum sustained winds had reached 193 kilometers per hour.
Isaias became a hurricane on Wednesday night, according to Infobae.
The storm's path has already disrupted daily life well beyond the U.S. coast. As it moved past the Yucatán Peninsula earlier in its track, schools shut down in at least 18 municipalities in southern Mexico and Gulf ports closed.
Forecasters expect the system to weaken somewhat before landfall because of increased wind shear, but they caution that the storm will still carry hurricane-strength hazards, particularly storm surge in Pensacola Bay and wind damage across southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
What to watch next: whether Isaias holds its Category 3 strength as it approaches the coast Friday night, and where exactly the center comes ashore between Mobile Bay and Destin, Florida — the range Infobae identifies as the expected landfall zone.
