Hurricane Isaias Becomes First Hurricane of Atlantic Season, Threatens Gulf Coast
The storm, currently a Category 2, is forecast to make landfall within two days, prompting states of emergency and evacuations.
Hurricane Isaias intensified into the Atlantic's first hurricane of the season early Thursday, four months into the season and breaking a record for the latest formation of the season's first hurricane. The storm is currently a Category 2 and could strengthen further before making landfall along the central Gulf Coast on Friday night or early Saturday.
Hurricane warnings are in effect from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay-Gulf County line in Florida. Some coastal residents in Florida's Okaloosa County have been ordered to evacuate, and non-essential personnel are being evacuated from Gulf of Mexico oil facilities. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 25 counties, while Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has issued a similar declaration for 40 counties.
The Gulf Coast is facing threats of heavy rain and flash flooding. The National Hurricane Center stated that the storm is expected to remain dangerous through landfall.
The Atlantic season had been unusually quiet, with Isaias being the ninth named storm but the first to reach hurricane strength. This lull has been attributed to El Niño, a phenomenon that increases vertical wind shear in the Atlantic, hindering hurricane formation. Conversely, El Niño has contributed to increased hurricane activity in the Pacific Ocean this year.
Despite the prior quiet period, El Niño is not expected to intensify Hurricane Isaias, and in fact, often weakens Atlantic hurricane activity. Oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico have begun cutting production and evacuating non-essential personnel in preparation for the storm's arrival, at a time when America's emergency oil stockpile is at its lowest since 1982.