Hurricane Isaias Hits Florida with 96 MPH Winds and Flooding Threat

Hurricane Isaias impacted Florida on Friday night, bringing strong winds and heavy rain, with gusts reported at 96 mph in Pensacola Bay. Footage from Fox News showed senior correspondent Robert Ray reporting from Destin as the hurricane approached the Gulf Coast. The storm had intensified to a Category 3 hurricane earlier on Friday, but the National Hurricane Center's 8 p.m. Eastern advisory downgraded it to Category 2, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. The hurricane made landfall along the northern Gulf Coast, although a confirmed time and location for the center crossing the shoreline was not provided. Destin and Fort Walton Beach were under a flash flood emergency due to heavy rain, which posed a risk of life-threatening flooding. Wind gusts of 72 mph were recorded in Orange Beach, Alabama. Rising water levels were reported around Panama City and Apalachicola, with forecasters warning of storm surge inundation of up to nine feet along parts of the coast between the Alabama-Florida border and Grayton Beach. More than 365,000 customers in Florida and Alabama experienced power outages, according to the Associated Press, which cited PowerOutage.com. Officials in Mobile reported fallen trees and power lines, while Florida’s Emerald Coast Utilities Authority issued a boil-water notice for its customers. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis advised residents to prepare for electricity outages and hazardous weather conditions, even outside the hurricane's direct path. Evacuation orders were issued for parts of Okaloosa, Escambia, and Walton counties in Florida, as well as Dauphin Island in Alabama. DeSantis, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared states of emergency in anticipation of the storm. Forecasters predicted the hurricane's effects would extend inland through the weekend, with rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches expected across southern Alabama, northwestern Florida, Florida's Big Bend, and southwest Georgia, and isolated amounts possibly reaching 15 inches. The tornado threat was also expected to extend into Georgia and the Carolinas on Saturday. Disruptions to air travel were reported across northwestern Florida, with all Friday arrivals and departures at Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport canceled. Pensacola International Airport recorded 74 cancellations, while Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport had 47 cancellations, according to FlightAware figures reported by the Associated Press.