Hurricane Isaias strengthens to a Category 3 storm as it nears U.S. Gulf Coast

Open this photo in gallery:People watch as waves build near the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier in Fla., Friday.RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty ImagesIsaias strengthened Friday into a major hurricane as it headed toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, where final preparations were being made for potentially life-threatening storm surges and high winds.The hurricane is forecast to make landfall late Friday somewhere along the Alabama-Florida line and create dangerous conditions in the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi, the National Hurricane Center said. Rain began falling along the coast Friday morning, and tropical storm conditions were expected to begin early in the afternoon.The Category 3 storm was packing 193 kph winds, and was expected to continue strengthening. Category 3 storms, considered major hurricanes, are capable of causing devastating damage, the centre said.Isaias was expected to weaken quickly as it hits shore and be downgraded to a tropical storm by Saturday afternoon as it moves north and inland along the Alabama-Mississippi line, the centre said.“Preparations should be rushed to completion as the weather will go downhill quickly today,” the hurricane centre said in an early morning forecast. “While the storm is not expected to make landfall at peak intensity, it is likely that Isaias will still be a significant hurricane when it reaches the coast.”Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, was centred about 386 kilometres south of Pensacola, Florida, and moving to the north-northeast at 24 kph, the centre said.It was expected to make landfall between Mobile Bay on the Alabama coast and Choctawhatchee Bay in the Florida Panhandle in the evening.Open this photo in gallery:Residents pick up sandbags for storm preparation at the James Seals Jr. Parks & Recreation Center ahead of Hurricane Isaias' expected landfall along the Gulf Coast, Thursday, in Mobile, Ala.Octavio Jones/The Associated PressBesides wind and storm surges, the hurricane will likely bring flash flooding and spawn tornadoes, the hurricane centre said. Rainfall amounts were anticipated to be 10 to 20 centimetres through the weekend across southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend, and southwest Georgia, with up to 38 centimetres possible in some areas.A hurricane warning was in place from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the western Florida Panhandle. Tropical storm warnings were issued from southeastern Louisiana to Aucilla River along Florida’s Big Bend.Preparations have been going on for days. On Thursday, residents boarded up windows and stacked sandbags while thousands of National Guard soldiers were deployed.Isaias is expected to bring a storm surge as high as 1.8 to 2.7 metres, with the deepest water hitting immediate coastal areas, along with large and dangerous waves, the hurricane centre said.Coastal communities moved quickly to prepare Thursday, as Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey ordered non-residents to immediately evacuate Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Dauphin Island. Videos on social media showed traffic at a standstill on a highway leading out of Gulf Shores, where double-red beach flags signalled water access was closed.Several counties announced mandatory evacuations for some coastal areas. The governors of Florida and Alabama declared states of emergency for dozens of counties, with Florida’s Ron DeSantis saying about 5,000 National Guard troops were expected to mobilize by Friday.On Dauphin Island, a 24-kilometre barrier island off the Alabama coast, officials encouraged voluntary evacuations, particularly on its popular western section, which is vulnerable to storm surge.Mayor Jeff Collier said he did not anticipate substantial damage, “but at the same time, these things are very fickle and a little jog here or there, or some last-minute increase in strength – we just have to be prepared for the worst.”Isaias also is 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 from the late weekend into Monday.Meanwhile in the Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Simon, which formed as a tropical storm on Wednesday off of Mexico and became a hurricane late Thursday, was forecast to strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane.