Where is hurricane Isaias now? Check landfall time, place as thousands evacuated following warning of life-threatening storm surges, tornadoes, flooding

National Hurricane Center (NHC) says hurricane Isaias about 125 mile south-southeast of Mobile Bay of Alabama with maximum sustained wind speed of 115 mph. Hurricane Isaias strengthened it barreled ​toward the US Gulf Coast, prompting mandatory evacuations in parts of Florida and emergency declarations in Alabama as forecasters warned of life-threatening storm surges, tornadoes and flooding. The Category 3 hurricane — the first of an unusually quiet Atlantic season — is expected to make landfall Friday night. Isaias is expected to come ashore between Mobile Bay on the Alabama coast and the city of Destin in the Florida Panhandle — a region known for powdery white sand beaches dotted with vacation homes, waterfront bars and seafood shacks.

US President Donald Trump on Friday canceled a planned trip to Alabama on Saturday for a college football game with a hurricane expected to impact the city where the Alabama-Georgia contest is to be played. Trump had planned to go to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for the game on Saturday night between the No. 2 ranked Georgia Bulldogs and No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide.

The projected path of the storm included Tuscaloosa. Trump said he would be visiting both of the football teams at a later date.


Dangerous conditions are expected throughout the western panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi, the National Hurricane Center said. Rain began falling along the coast Friday morning, and tropical storm-force winds were expected by early afternoon.

A storm surge as high as 6 to 9 feet (1.8 to 2.7 meters) is likely in some coastal areas, according to the hurricane center. Places most at risk include Florida's Pensacola Beach and the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents to expect flooding, wind damage, power outages and gasoline shortages. The hurricane center said on Friday morning that time was running out to make preparations “as the weather will go downhill quickly today.”

Once Isaias comes ashore, it is expected to weaken until it is downgraded to a tropical storm by Saturday afternoon, the hurricane center said. Still, heavy rain is forecast as it moves inland, with 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) or even more expected through the weekend from southern Alabama to southwestern Georgia.

Isaias, which will be the first hurricane to hit the eastern U.S. since Milton tore up the Gulf Coast of Florida in 2024, 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 into Monday.

A hurricane warning was in place from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the western Florida Panhandle. Preparations have been going on for days. On Thursday, residents boarded up windows and stacked sandbags while thousands of National Guard soldiers were deployed.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday 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 signaled water access was closed.

Several counties announced mandatory evacuations for some coastal areas while Florida and Alabama declared states of emergency for dozens of counties.

On Dauphin Island, a barrier island off the Alabama coast, 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.”

Meanwhile in the Pacific, Hurricane Simon became a Category 2 hurricane on Friday and was expected to strengthen further before making landfall in Mexico this weekend.