Hurricane Tracker Shows Isaias Making Landfall in Florida With 110 mph Winds
The hurricane tracker shows Hurricane Isaias making landfall in Florida's western panhandle as a Category 2 storm with 110 mph winds, triggering life-threatening flooding, mandatory evacuations and power outages across the Gulf Coast while two other Pacific storm systems batter Mexico and Southern California.
Hurricane Isaias Makes Landfall in Florida
Hurricane Isaias made landfall in Florida's western panhandle as a Category 2 storm. The storm weakened slightly to a category 2 hurricane with 110 mph winds before landfall on Friday evening. It brought life-threatening storm surge up to 9 feet, heavy rain, and potential tornadoes. [4]
Evacuation Orders and Emergency Declarations
Florida, Alabama, and Georgia issued states of emergency. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for coastal communities and non-residents in key counties, with officials urging residents to evacuate immediately. Florida Senator Rick Scott encouraged residents in designated areas to evacuate as soon as possible, warning in a social media post to get out now. Governor of Alabama Kay Ivey issued a mandatory evacuation for all non-residents, tourists and visitors in key counties. [4]
Power Outages and Resident Experiences
Hundreds of thousands lost power before landfall, with more than 350,000 without electricity in Florida and 170,000 in Alabama as of Friday evening. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 35 miles from Isaias' centre, and tropical storm-force winds extended as far as 205 miles. John Guoth, a resident of Navarre, Florida, said he and his wife would remain in their home, adding that pretty much everything that can fly and will fly is battened down. Pensacola resident Brandin Ruth said people have seen bad storms before but are bunkering up. [4]
Hurricane Tracker: Forecast Path, Tornado Risk and Inland Impacts
The Atlantic hurricane season has been delayed by El Niño, marking the first October start in more than 30 years. Isaias is expected to move across Alabama into the Tennessee Valley on Saturday and Sunday. After hitting Florida, the centre of Isaias is forecast to move across Alabama and into the Tennessee Valley on Saturday and Sunday. There is also the potential for accompanying tornadoes. Melissa Watson, a Florida-based meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said for those who have not evacuated the main thing will be having multiple ways to receive warnings about tornadoes and storm surges. [4]
Concurrent Pacific Storms Hit Mexico and California
Simultaneously, Hurricane Simon is forecast to strengthen to Category 4 and strike near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, while Tropical Storm Rachel is causing coastal flooding in Southern California with high tides and street inundation in Newport Beach. Hurricane Simon is bearing down on the Pacific coast of Mexico as a category one hurricane and is set to pick up speed and become category four by Saturday, eventually making landfall near Puerto Vallarta on Sunday. Tropical Storm Rachel is heading toward landfall around the US-Mexico border along the Pacific, and video footage shows several streets under water in Newport Beach through a combination of the tropical storm swells at sea and high tide. [4]
Ongoing Flood Warnings in the Southeast
Separate NWS flash flood and river flood warnings remain in effect for parts of Alabama and Florida due to excessive rainfall and moderate flooding on the Shoal River near Crestview. Moderate flooding is forecast for the Shoal River near Crestview affecting Okaloosa County. At 1242 AM CDT, Doppler radar indicated heavy rain across the warned area in Coffee, AL, where between 5 and 12 inches of rain have fallen. Flooding caused by excessive rainfall is expected until 900 AM CDT Saturday in southeastern Conecuh County, Covington County, southern Crenshaw County and eastern Escambia County in Alabama. [1] [2] [5]
What to watch next: The centre of Isaias is forecast to move across Alabama and into the Tennessee Valley on Saturday and Sunday, with Hurricane Simon set to make landfall near Puerto Vallarta on Sunday and Tropical Storm Rachel expected to reach the coast late on Saturday.
