Tropical Storm Isaias formed Wednesday (local time) off eastern Mexico and was forecast to rapidly strengthen into the Atlantic season’s first hurricane before reaching the US Gulf Coast later this week, with landfall possible as early as Friday evening.The storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and was moving east-northeast at 8 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Forecasters expected Isaias to become a hurricane by Thursday as it turns north towards the Gulf Coast, with landfall likely late Friday or early Saturday.“We’re expecting multiple dangerous, life-threatening impacts along portions of the northern Gulf Coast beginning Friday and continuing into the weekend,” National Hurricane Center director Michael Brennan said in a video briefing as quoted by news agency AP.Isaias could strengthen into a Category 3 hurricane, with winds of at least 111 mph, Brennan said. A hurricane watch was issued for the northern Gulf Coast from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Indian Pass on Florida’s Panhandle.The storm could bring dangerous storm surge from southeast Louisiana to Florida’s Big Bend, while 3 to 7 inches of rain could trigger flash flooding along the coast. Rainfall of 1 to 3 inches was possible as far inland as Tennessee and the western Carolinas.Authorities moved to prepare for the storm, with Florida and Alabama declaring states of emergency. Gulf oil producers halted about 25% of regional oil production, taking roughly 511,000 barrels a day off the market.In Alabama, Gulf Shores canceled its National Shrimp Festival, which drew an estimated 325,000 people last year. Officials in Florida and Alabama also prepared emergency crews and urged residents to take precautions.“Obviously no need to panic at this point,” Pensacola Mayor DC Reeves told a news conference. “This is really about preparation,” Reeves added.
