Tropical Storm Isaias drew hurricane watches along the northern Gulf Coast on Oct. 7 as forecasters warned it could become the first hurricane of a quiet 2026 Atlantic season.
The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Indian Pass, Florida, with tropical storm watches into southeast Louisiana and Florida’s Big Bend and a storm surge watch from the Mississippi River mouth to Yankeetown, Florida.
Forecasters expected Isaias to become a hurricane on Thursday and possibly reach Category 2 strength before landfall late Friday or early Saturday somewhere from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for about 25 north Florida counties.
Residents in the watch area were told to finish preparations, review evacuation zones and not drive into flooded roads.
Sources: While You Were Out / NHC summary, PBS NewsHour. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: NOAA / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
