Hurricane Isaias will make landfall within the next few hours in the western Florida panhandle with life-threatening storm surge, rainfall flooding and extreme winds. It will then spread its heavy rain and winds inland over the Southeast this weekend.

Hurricane force gusts are now coming ashore in the Florida panhandle.

(MORE: Hurricane Isaias maps tracker | Live updates)

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Where Hurricane Isaias is now

Isaias is centered 60 miles south-southeast of Pensacola, Florida. The storm is moving north at 17 mph.

It will make landfall this evening along the northern Gulf Coast east of Pensacola, Florida, as a Category 2 or 3 hurricane.

Tropical storm winds, heavy rain arriving

As the radar image below shows, areas of very heavy rain are soaking the northern Gulf Coast and pushing inland ahead of Isaias. You can also see the eye of Isaias in radar imagery below.

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Wind gusts over 50 mph have been clocked along the coast in several locations from Louisiana to Florida. A gust to 75 mph was recently recorded near Perdido Key, southwest of Pensacola, Florida. A gust to 53 mph was reported by Plaquemines Parish local emergency management in Venice, Louisiana.

Isaias is expected to be a gustier than average storm as it makes moves ashore.

Around 11 a.m. CDT, an instrumented NOAA Saildrone measured a gust of 104 mph near the eyewall of Isaias, according to the National Hurricane Center.

A tornado watch is in effect for much of the Florida Panhandle, extreme southwestern Georgia and extreme southeastern Alabama until 9 p.m. EDT.

The latest watches and warnings

Storm surge warning: Mouth of the Mississippi River to the Suwannee River, Florida. A storm surge watch extends south to Yankeetown, Florida.

Hurricane warning: Along the Gulf Coast from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay/Gulf County line in Florida, and also inland in parts of extreme southern Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle (shaded in purple on the map below).

Tropical storm warning: Along the Gulf Coast from the Jefferson/Plaquemines Parish line south of New Orleans to west of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and east of the Bay/Gulf County line to the Aucilla River, Florida. These warnings also extend inland to much of eastern Mississippi, southern and central Alabama, southwestern Georgia and the rest of the Florida Panhandle not in hurricane alerts (shaded in red in the map below).

(MORE: What all these tropical terms mean)

Isaias' impacts

The most significant impacts will be felt along and to the east of the storm's track and its inland remnant.

Storm surge

The map below shows how much inundation of normally dry ground may occur near the coast from water pushing in from the Gulf as the center of Isaias moves ashore tonight into early Saturday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.

These values represent the peak flood levels if the storm surge happens around high tide.

This is a life-threatening storm surge, especially in areas shaded in yellow and orange in the map below.

Winds

Damaging winds are most likely in areas covered by hurricane warnings, shown in the graphic near the top of this article, from extreme southeast Mississippi and southern Alabama to the western Florida Panhandle.

And damaging hurricane force winds won't simply stop at the coast.

In these areas, hurricane force winds could lead to widespread tree damage and power outages that could last for at least several days, as well as potential damage to structures, including roofs.

And wind gusts capable of at least some tree damage and power outages will extend much farther inland across eastern Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Smoky Mountains this weekend.

Trees could also be toppled easier in ground soaked by heavy rain.

Rainfall

Heavy rain from Isaias will continue along the Gulf Coast through early Saturday morning, and will push far inland through the rest of the weekend.

As much as 15 inches of rain could fall locally near the Gulf Coast, especially east of the track of the center where training heavy rainbands may persist the longest. Most other areas near the Gulf Coast are forecast to pick up 4 to 8 inches of rain.

Most of the rest of the Southeast is forecast to pick up 2 to 5 inches of rain, though isolated areas could see up to 10 inches, especially in the foothills of the southern Appalachians and the coastal Carolinas.

Flash flooding could become widespread near the Gulf Coast and could increase this weekend in other parts of the Southeast, Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic.

(MORE: What is the 'dirty side' of a hurricane?)

Tornadoes

As often is the case with landfalling hurricanes, there is a threat for tornadoes in outer rainbands as the center approaches land Friday, then possibly again Saturday in parts of the Southeast.

Day-by-day forecast for Isaias

Saturday, Isaias will move farther inland and weaken, but its impacts will be far from over.

Heavy rainfall and powerful winds will spread inland across the Southeast. Cities like Jackson, Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, Wilmington, Charleston, Tallahassee and Orlando could see the worst of the conditions.

Sunday, what is left of Isaias will continue to move north, bringing rainfall to parts of the Great Lakes, mid-Atlantic and even the Northeast.

Rainfall will still be ongoing as far south as Savannah and Nashville but will spread to Charlotte, Virginia Beach, Washington, New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Rain could even fall for Cincinnati and Detroit.

What you should do

If you're near the Gulf Coast in areas covered by hurricane warnings and/or storm surge warnings, it is time to hunker down and stay inside until conditions improve. The time for preparations has passed.

Be prepared for power outages that could last at least several hours or possibly multiple days in the hurricane-warned areas near the Gulf Coast.

Avoid flood-prone areas and never drive into flooded stretches of roads.

Impact risk
The map below shows the general risk from Isaias and its inland remnant, including from rainfall flooding, winds and storm surge near the coast. This map will update throughout the duration of the storm.

The impact levels on the map mean:

• "Aware" (yellow): Some significant impacts could occur. Check frequently for forecast updates ahead.
• "Prepare" (orange): More widespread, significant storm impacts are increasingly possible. Consider stocking up on supplies, plan for potential power outages and know your evacuation or escape routes if you live in an area prone to storm surge or rainfall flooding.
• "Alert" (red): Storm impacts will arrive soon or are already occurring. Put your preparedness plan into action. Heed any orders from local officials to evacuate and remain in safe shelter once conditions deteriorate until the storm is over.

(MORE: Stay prepared this hurricane season)

How to pronounce Isaias

Isaias (ees-ah-EE-ahs) is one of the trickier names to pronounce on this year's list. To hear the correct pronunciation, listen here.

Isaias replaced "Ike" on one of the Atlantic name lists after that name was retired following the destructive, deadly 2008 hurricane.

It wasn't used during its first year of eligibility in 2014, since we only reached the eighth name, Hanna, that year.

However, the name was used in 2020 for a storm that eventually tracked up the East Coast with destructive winds.