Hurricane Isaias Weakens After Landfall as Hundreds of Thousands Without Power

Isaias, the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2026 season, made landfall late Friday near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 105 miles per hour. The storm has since weakened to a post-tropical cyclone with winds of 65 mph as it moved inland, but the damage has already been severe, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without electricity.

Massive Power Outages Across the Southeast

As Isaias moves further inland, the storm has left more than 860,000 people without electricity across the southeastern United States. According to poweroutage.us, the worst-affected states include:

• Florida: 436,745 outages
• Alabama: 316,366 outages
• Georgia: 87,334 outages
• Washington: 6,550 outages
• California: 4,467 outages
• Texas: 4,404 outages
• Ohio: 3,827 outages
• Idaho: 1,549 outages

Residents in the hardest-hit areas faced intense conditions. Jonathan Ramos, a 40-year-old government employee sheltering in Pensacola, Florida, described the terrifying intensity of the winds from his hotel as the power failed: “Things are flying really fast, and I’ve never seen wind this fast before, so it’s intense, it’s scary. I don’t recommend people coming down here for fun to do this.”

Isaias Weakens, But Flood Risks Remain High

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced that maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts as the storm moves across Alabama and into the Tennessee Valley. Slow weakening is forecast today, and Isaias is expected to dissipate on Sunday.

Despite the weakening winds, the NHC warned that heavy rainfall across the Southeast presents a significant threat of flash flooding. Southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, and south-western Georgia are expected to be among the hardest-hit areas. Additionally, landslides are possible in the Southern Appalachians.

Prior to landfall, storm surge warnings were active from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Suwannee River in Florida. Residents in these vulnerable regions were strongly urged to follow instructions from local emergency officials and evacuate if ordered to do so.

As the recovery efforts begin, authorities continue to assess the full extent of the damage caused by high winds, heavy rain, and storm surges along the Gulf Coast.

Source link