Hurricane Isaias made landfall in the late evening of Oct. 9 in the Florida Panhandle at Category 2 strength.

Wind gusts over 110 mph were clocked in several panhandle locations, along with storm surge flooding. Over 700,000 customers are without power in its wake.

Isaias' recap

Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, Friday evening with sustained winds of 105 mph, a Category 2 hurricane.

Weather in your inbox

Forecast Location

Sign Up

By signing up you agree to the Terms & Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe at any time.

That was the first hurricane to landfall in the mainland U.S. in exactly two years, since Milton slammed into western Florida on Oct. 9, 2024.

A rarely-issued extreme wind warning was issued Friday evening for the western Florida Panhandle, including Pensacola and Destin, for the likelihood of wind gusts over 115 mph ahead of the eyewall of Isaias.

The highest gust recorded was 116 mph in Santa Rosa Sound, Florida, where sustained winds of 91 mph were also measured.

Get More of Our News on Google

Set The Weather Company as a 'Preferred Source' to get quicker access to the news you value.

Pensacola reported a 102-mph wind gust earlier Friday evening. Gulf Breeze, Florida, located across Pensacola Bay from Pensacola, reported a wind gust of 97 mph and sustained winds of 83 mph.

Early observations show water levels surpassed 4.0 feet above normally dry ground in Destin and 5.6 feet in Panama City, Florida, and were likely higher in the western Panhandle.

One caveat with these storm surge totals is they are measured relative to the Mean Higher High Water (MHHW) and this number includes tide influences so they should not be interpreted as storm surge heights alone.

The highest wind gust reported was an impressive 117 mph three miles east-southeast of Oriole Beach. Two miles west southwest of Pensacola, at City Hall, a gust of 102 was reported.

There was a roof blown off the Rest and Relax Inn on Plantation Road in Pensacola. Multiple collapsed gas station canopies were reported in Pensacola (Blue Angel Parkway and Mobile Highway) and also in Crestview. Trees were uprooted, one of which crushed a business on Fort Walton Beach. There were also multiple RVs blown over, including one onto US 98 between Gulf Breeze and Navarre.

Less than 12 hours prior to landfall, an instrumented NOAA Saildrone measured a gust of 104 mph near the eyewall of Isaias, according to the National Hurricane Center.

In Alabama, a gust of 75 mph was reported near Orange Beach while Birmingham saw a gust of 49 mph.

Trees fell directly onto residences in Mountain Brook, Birmingham (Five Points & Ensley), Opelika (manufactured home), and Ladonia (tree through a house).

All roads were impassable in Conecuh County due to debris and fallen trees.

Georgia saw a 68 mph gust in Warner Robins while Hartsfield-Jackson Airport saw a gust to 45 mph.

Isaias' Rainfall

In terms of heavy rainfall, Bellwood, Alabama, saw over a foot of rain in just 13 hours. Caney Creek/FAWN Station, Florida, saw 12.06 inches in 24 hours, with 9.67 falling in 3 hours and 4.15 inches falling in 1 hour.

Flash flooding reports were observed at Westland Apartments in Bellair, Florida, while flash flooding stranded a vehicle in floodwaters near Sale City, Georgia.

In Florida, Bayside Subdivision and Destin saw 7.18 inches and 7.52 inches of rainfall, respectively.
The Greater Atlanta area saw 1-3 inches of rainfall in a 6 hour period early Saturday.

A flash flood warning was even in effect for part of Atlanta that morning.

And on Saturday, multiple tornadoes were sighted by storm spotters in the Savannah River Valley including near Newington and Oliver, Georgia.

There were also multiple tornado reports across South Carolina on Saturday. Near Appleton, South Carolina, four homes were severely damaged, as well as numerous trees and powerlines down. Barnwell County Aiken County, and Newberry County also had reports of tornadoes.

On Oct. 11, remnants of Isaias moved into North Carolina, producing heavy rainfall, flash flooding and landslides.

A few tornadoes were also reported in North Carolina, near Candor, Clarendon and Atkinson, North Carolina.

Numerous flood watches and warnings were also issued across Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania on Oct. 11.

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.