From the HERE City National Desk
A hurricane warning is now in effect for the northern Gulf Coast from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay/Gulf County line in Florida as Tropical Storm Isaias nears hurricane strength, the National Hurricane Center said late Wednesday.
As of 10 p.m. CDT, Isaias had maximum sustained winds near 70 mph and was moving east-northeast at 9 mph, about 460 miles south-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River. Forecasters expect it to become a hurricane soon, keep strengthening through early Friday and remain a strong hurricane as it approaches the coast. Landfall is expected within the warning area late Friday or early Saturday.
A storm surge warning stretches from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Steinhatchee River in Florida. Water could reach 5 to 7 feet above ground from Ocean Springs to Indian Pass, Florida, and in Mobile Bay if the peak surge arrives at high tide.
From Friday through the weekend, Isaias is expected to drop 3 to 7 inches of rain from far southeastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, with local totals up to 10 inches. Much of the Southeast, as far north as the Tennessee Valley and the Carolinas, could see 1 to 3 inches, with flash flooding possible. Isolated tornadoes are possible in coastal Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, with the threat extending into western Georgia on Saturday.
Isaias is the ninth named storm of the Atlantic season and the first expected to become a hurricane.
