Isaias Barrels
A category 3 hurricane nears the Gulf Coast, prompting emergency declarations in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.
Hurricane Isaias strengthened into a category 3 storm Friday morning. Alabama, Florida and Mississippi declared states of emergency as it bore down on the Gulf Coast.
The National Hurricane Center put the storm about 230 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River Friday morning, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, The Guardian reported. Landfall is expected between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday, within 40 miles of Pensacola, Florida, according to ABC News.
Storm surge of 5 to 7 feet is possible from Dauphin Island, Alabama, to Pensacola and Panama City, Florida, ABC News reported. Waves could reach 30 feet. Up to 15 inches of rain could fall along the coast, The Guardian reported, with a risk of tornadoes overnight into Saturday.
Isaias is the first hurricane of an Atlantic season that a strong El Nino has kept unusually quiet, The Guardian and DW both reported. Not since 1905 has the season's first hurricane formed this late. Before the satellite era.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey ordered non-residents to evacuate Dauphin Island, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. She declared a state of emergency for 40 counties, The Guardian reported. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared emergencies in 27 counties and announced 5,000 National Guard troops were mobilizing. At a Friday news conference, he urged residents in storm surge zones to evacuate. "You hide from the wind, but you run from the water," he said, according to ABC News.
Oil production has taken a hit too. By Thursday, companies had shut in about 1.3 million barrels a day, 63% of Gulf output, CNBC reported, citing the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. The storm could also threaten a Chevron refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and a Vertex Energy refinery in Saraland, Alabama. Together the two plants produce 2.4% of U.S. refining capacity, CNBC reported.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said federal authorities would coordinate the response with state and local governments, DW reported. Isaias was forecast to make landfall Friday night or early Saturday and weaken fast once ashore, according to the Guardian and DW.
"Now is the time to prepare," Mullin said on X.