Hurricane Isaias: Hundreds of thousands without power in US

More than 726,000 utility customers were left without electricity across Florida and Alabama after Hurricane Isaias roared ashore along the United States Gulf Coast, downing power lines, toppling trees, and flooding local roads.

The storm came ashore on Friday near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 hurricane, marking the initial hurricane of the Atlantic season. As it pushed inland and tracked north into Alabama, its sustained winds decreased significantly. By Saturday morning, the National Hurricane Center reported that the system was located roughly 25 miles south-southwest of Montgomery, Alabama, and about 105 miles south of Birmingham, packing maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour.

Despite the reduction in wind intensity, coastal and inland communities faced substantial disruption and hazardous conditions. Significant storm surge risks remained in place for sections of the Florida Panhandle. Forecasters also warned that the weather system could spawn tornadoes across the Florida Panhandle, Georgia, and the Carolinas over the course of the weekend.

Local authorities throughout the impacted region urged the public to exercise extreme caution. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis cautioned residents on Friday to stay off the roads and shelter in place. In Pensacola, law enforcement asked drivers to avoid roadways cluttered with debris, while footage from the area revealed structural damage, including a hotel roof ripped off by high winds. Emergency services in several Panhandle counties temporarily halted response runs late Friday because conditions had become too perilous for first responders.

Southern Alabama also suffered severe impacts. Municipal workers in Mobile dealt with fallen trees and severed power cables, and officials in Houston County closed multiple roads due to storm debris and water.

Air travel experienced widespread halts, with several airports in the Florida Panhandle grounding most flights, including all services into and out of Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport. President Donald Trump canceled a scheduled visit to an athletic event in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, citing a desire to avoid complicating regional emergency operations.

Meteorologists forecast between 4 and 8 inches of rain, with higher localized totals, over southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, the Big Bend area, and southwestern Georgia. The system was projected to continue dumping heavy rainfall and triggering potential flash floods across the broader Southeast through the weekend before shifting toward parts of the Midwest and Northeast early in the week.