Hurricane Isaias makes landfall in Florida as Category two storm, bringing floods and strong winds

Hurricane Isaias crashed into the US Gulf Coast as a dangerous Category 2 storm on Friday lashing communities with wind and rain and threatening to flood lowlying areas where residents were advised to evacuate ahead of its arrival The first hurricane of the Atlantic season made landfall at near Destin Florida the Miamibased National Hurricane Center said It had maximum sustained winds of 105 mph 169 kph The storm weakened to just below major hurricane status before it came ashoreHigh winds whipped palm trees and thundering waves crashed along the beaches of the Florida Panhandle and Alabama on Friday as Hurricane Isaias charged toward the US Gulf Coast Things are going to get really really treacherous over the next couple hours said Jamie Rhome deputy director for the National Hurricane CenterForecasters warned of a significant storm surge damaging winds flooding and possibly even tornadoes before the storm loses steam as it moves inland and delivers strong winds and rain well north into Atlanta Wind gusts up to hurricane strength began to lash the Gulf shoreline in the early evening The lowlying coastal area is known for powdery white sand beaches that are dotted with vacation homes waterfront bars and seafood shacksIn Mobile Alabama officials reported downed trees and power lines while Emerald Coast Utilities Authority which serves parts of Florida issued a boilwater notice for its customers More than 365000 customers in Florida and Alabama were without power Friday evening according to poweroutagecomA hurricane warning was in place from Ocean Springs Mississippi to the western Florida Panhandle Several counties announced mandatory evacuations while Mobile Alabama imposed a curfew beginning Friday evening until morning Residents in Panama City Florida braved the rain while filling sandbags Friday to protect their houses I mean its just the nature of the beast Its Florida said Corliss Stone who works for the fire departmentMany will brave Isaias at homeOne of the biggest concerns is a storm surge that could be as high as 6 to 9 feet 18 to 27 meters according to the hurricane center Places most at risk include Floridas Pensacola Beach and the Gulf Islands National Seashore Anne Petzold who lives with her husband in the Florida beach community of Gulf Breeze said everyone in their neighborhood planned to ride out the storm The couple installed hurricane shutters and picked up anything in their yard that could turn into a projectileEverybody does what they can do everybody asks if they need help they ask for help they offer help All good she said Its just another adventure Dangerous conditions are expected throughout the western panhandle southern Alabama and southern Mississippi the National Hurricane Center saidIn a sign of how serious the warnings are dozens of Waffle Houses in the Florida Panhandle were closed according to the companys website The beloved Southern breakfast chain is known for staying open through severe weather and often is a measuring stick of a storms severity Kelsei Frazier a Floridanative living in Pace who is no stranger to hurricanes knows all about the Waffle House IndexWe joke because if Waffle House is still open then you know its not a bad hurricane but all the Waffle Houses that I know of within at least a normal range from us are closed said Frazier Which is a pretty big deal Florida Gov Ron DeSantis warned residents to expect power outages gasoline shortages and closures of bridges and highways The states National Gauard deployed about 5000 soldiers and airmen to help with the response and search and rescue teams were ready to respond while some prisons evacuated inmatesThe whole region could get soakedIsaias is expected to weaken and be downgraded to a tropical storm by Saturday afternoon the 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 GeorgiaIsaias which is the first hurricane to hit the eastern US 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 MondayIsaias grounds flights but likely to miss oil hubsThe storm grounded most Friday flights at several Panhandle airports including all flights into and out of DestinFort Walton Beach Airport President Donald Trump meanwhile scrapped his plans to attend Saturdays football game between the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa He said he didnt want to disrupt the emergency response Isaias was expected to miss the oil industrys biggest hubs along the Gulf Coast but fuel prices could rise if power outages shut down refineries for processing crude industry experts saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability 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