Tropical Storm Isaias formed early Wednesday in the warm waters off eastern Mexico and forecasters predict it will strengthen into a hurricane before reaching the U.S. Gulf Coast later in the week.
As of Wednesday morning, Isaias was situated about 285 miles (460 kilometers) west of Progreso, Mexico, and approximately 580 miles (935 kilometers) southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was moving east-northeast at 8 mph (13 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
It is not yet clear where the storm will make landfall along the Gulf Coast. Initial projections from the hurricane center suggest the center of Isaias could come ashore somewhere between eastern Louisiana and the western Florida Panhandle.