Updated 8:12 a.m. Saturday
GULF BREEZE, Fla. (AP) — Isaias weakened overnight and was no longer considered a hurricane but flash flooding threats and the potential for tornadoes persisted Saturday as the storm moved inland across Alabama.
The storm, now considered a post-tropical cyclone, made landfall Friday as a Category 2 hurricane, then quickly moved north through Alabama as its wind speeds dropped sharply to 35 mph (55 kph). But the possibility of life-threatening storm surges still loomed for parts of the Florida Panhandle, along with a potential for 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain across southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend over the weekend.
Early Saturday, Isaias was about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south-southwest of Montgomery, Alabama and nearly 105 miles (170 kilometers) south of Birmingham, Alabama, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph), the NHC said Saturday. It is expected to move into the Tennessee Valley later Saturday and Sunday.
All tropical storm and storm surge warnings have been discontinued. But forecasters warned that conditions could stir up tornadoes across parts of the Florida Panhandle and into Georgia and the Carolinas.
Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, as the first hurricane of the Atlantic season. Hurricane-force winds lashed the Gulf shoreline in the low-lying coastal area known for powdery white-sand beaches dotted with vacation homes, waterfront bars, and seafood shacks.
“The storm is here. Buckle down at this point. Don’t be getting out on the roads,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Friday.
Roads in Destin were flooded, while in nearby Pensacola, police warned residents to stay off the streets because of debris across roadways. While the extent of the damage was not immediately known, many area residents posted pictures online of downed trees and power lines, and one social media video showed a roof being ripped off an inn in Pensacola.
Some Panhandle counties temporarily suspended emergency response Friday night because of dangerous conditions.
Parts of southern Alabama also were flooded, with officials in Mobile reporting downed trees and power lines. Roads in Houston County, which is in the southeastern corner of the state, were closed because of similar conditions.
More than 911,000 customers in Florida, Alabama and Georgia were without power early Saturday, according to poweroutage.com.
Tim Mowry, who rode out the storm from his home in Pensacola, said the wind was so intense it sounded like a train whistle as it whipped through a crack in his patio door. He lost power around 4:30 p.m. but was able to rely on a generator. Standing water also covered his backyard, and parts of his fence were ripped down, but overall he said the storm wasn’t as bad as he expected.
“As far as Pensacola-wise, we really got fortunate,” Mowry said.
Mowry said his son, who lives about 15 minutes away, tried to drive to his home after losing power but had to turn around because downed trees and power lines blocked the roads.
Isaias, the first hurricane to hit the eastern U.S. since Milton tore up the Gulf Coast of Florida in 2024, is also expected to bring heavy rain and potential flooding to much of the Southeast over the weekend, then to parts of the Midwest and Northeast into Monday.
The storm also grounded most Friday flights at several panhandle airports, including all flights into and out of Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, scrapped his plans to attend Saturday’s football game between the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He said he didn’t want to disrupt emergency response efforts.
FEMA says its staff is ‘fully engaged’
The Federal Emergency Management Agency urged Gulf Coast residents on Thursday to prepare for the hurricane and said that its offices were “fully engaged.”
FEMA staff were embedded in state emergency operations centers and incident management teams deployed to Alabama and Florida. The agency prepositioned emergency supplies at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, and has activated multiple national urban search and rescue teams “for potential movement if needed.”
Disaster response is led by local and state jurisdictions, with FEMA in a supporting role to coordinate federal support as needed and requested.
El Niño’s storm-killer winds, climate’s warming waters fight over Isaias’ future
A supersized El Niño’s decapitating winds and the Gulf of Mexico’s toasty, storm-fueling waters are battling over the future strength of Hurricane Isaias. And the storm’s tilt and eye show who’s winning.
For now, it’s the waters charged by climate change.
All Atlantic hurricane season, there has been “this battle between shear and just the overall conducive conditions,” said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
El Niño — the natural temporary warming of parts of the Pacific that warps weather worldwide — dominated. Its wind patterns smothered almost any wisp of a storm from strengthening in the Atlantic, while boosting what will soon be record-high levels in the Pacific, Klotzbach said.
Isaias could nudge fuel prices higher if Gulf refineries take a major hit
Hurricane Isaias is forecast to miss the oil industry’s biggest hubs along the Gulf Coast, but could still nudge fuel prices higher if it triggers power outages that shut down refineries for processing crude, according to experts.
An extended refinery shutdown would impact fuel supplies that already have taken a hit from the U.S. war against Iran and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Experts say that could increase fuel prices by a few cents or even as much as a dollar per gallon. Refineries in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama, account for 2.4% of the nation’s refining capacity.
If the storm moves through quickly with minimal impacts, refineries would continue to run at reduced capacity, and gasoline and diesel prices could rise just a few cents, said Carl Larry with the energy analysis firm Enverus.
Refineries could take weeks to fully recover from a major hit, he added.
DHS won’t say whether it will suspend immigration enforcement during Isaias
The Department of Homeland Security would not give The Associated Press a clear answer Friday on whether it will suspend non-criminal immigration enforcement in states impacted by Isaias during the emergency.
In past administrations, including Trump’s first, DHS would sometimes issue messaging in the run-up to hurricanes clarifying its immigration enforcement policies during extreme weather.
Before Hurricane Irma in 2017, the agency stated that “DHS will not conduct non-criminal immigration enforcement operations in the affected area … When it comes to rescuing people in the wake of Hurricane Irma, immigration status is not and will not be a factor.”
Asked Friday what the DHS policy is during Isaias, the department instead cited a statement about FEMA’s storm preparations. It included: “Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin’s leadership, the safety of the American people is DHS’s top priority.”
DHS did not immediately respond to follow-up questions.
How to pronounce Isaias and Simon
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he’ll keep “butchering” the pronunciation of Isaias, but you don’t have to.
Here’s how to say it:
Hurricane Isaias is pronounced “ee-sah-EE-ahs,” not Isaiah.
And Hurricane Simon is pronounced “SY-muhn.”
This story comes through a partnership with the nonprofit Associated Press Fund for Journalism.
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