MIAMI — Isaias strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane as it barreled toward the U.S. Gulf Coast on Thursday, prompting orders for tourists to abandon beaches for safer spots inland, sending locals scurrying for gas and groceries and leading fishing crews to secure their boats before the potentially destructive storm’s arrival.
The first hurricane of the Atlantic season was forecast to intensify rapidly and cause dangerous conditions in the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi when it makes landfall late Friday or early Saturday. Heavy rain and flooding were possible into the weekend as far north as Tennessee and North Carolina.
“We are expecting Isaias to be a dangerous hurricane when it makes landfall,” said Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
R.J. Rico, Dave Collins and Gerald Herbert report for the Associated Press October 8, 2026.
SEE ALSO:
"Hurricane Isaias Now About 24 Hours From Gulf Coast Landfall" (Weather Channel)
"Hurricane Isaias Strengthens To Category 2 With Evacuations Underway In The Gulf States" (CNN)
