Hurricane Isaias forms, expected to rapidly intensify in Gulf
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Isaias' track with watches and warnings highlighted. Image: National Hurricane Center
Hurricane Isaias is expected to rapidly intensify in the Gulf and become nearly a Category 3 storm before making landfall late Friday near the Alabama-Florida state line.
Why it matters: New Orleans is now outside the storm's cone, but NHC says residents from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle should monitor Isaias closely.
The big picture: Isaias strengthened late Wednesday, becoming the first hurricane of the Atlantic season.
- It's moving fast and growing, the National Hurricane Center says.
- It's forecast to have peak winds of 110 mph, putting it just shy of the 111 mph threshold for a Category 3 hurricane.
- Landfall is expected overnight Friday between Gulf Shores and Pensacola.
Threat level: A tropical storm warning is in effect from the Jefferson-Plaquemines parish line west to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
- New Orleans East is included, but not the rest of the metro. Tropical storm conditions are possible in the warning area in the next 36 hours, NHC says.
- See the latest track.
Zoom in: Officials in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish say they are monitoring the storm but expect minimal impacts on the current track.
- Friday and Saturday could have scattered showers and maybe a half-inch of rain in the city, the National Weather Service says. The heaviest bands will be east of the metro. (Forecast)
- Lake Pontchartrain could get 1 to 3 feet of storm surge. (Map)
- By Sunday, we'll be back to mostly sunny.
Between the lines: Isaias is the Spanish form of Isaiah. It's pronounced "ees-ah-EE-ahs," NHC says.
- It's causing a hubbub on social media for meteorologists like WWL's Payton Malone, who is fending off comments that he's saying it incorrectly.