Hurricane Isaias Strengthens to 115 MPH as It Nears the Northern Gulf Coast

The National Hurricane Center reported on Friday, October 9, 2026, that Hurricane Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph in the Gulf of America. In a 5:00 p.m. CDT position update, the center placed the storm near 29.5 degrees north and 86.9 degrees west, moving north at 17 mph.

Earlier reports put the storm at a lower strength. An 11:30 p.m. advisory on Wednesday, October 7, had Isaias at 75 mph, a Category 1 hurricane, according to FOX 35 Orlando. According to the sources, Isaias has grown from a 75 mph hurricane on Wednesday to a 115 mph storm by Friday.

Watches and the forecast track along the Gulf Coast

A hurricane watch runs from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Indian Pass, Florida. FOX 35 Orlando reported that hurricane conditions were possible in that area by late Friday, with landfall expected on the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday. 10News reported that areas from eastern Louisiana to Florida’s Panhandle should monitor the storm.

The sources do not agree on strength at landfall. 10News reported a Category 2 landfall forecast from the NHC. The Friday NHC page shows current winds of 115 mph, higher than the 75 mph reading in the earlier advisory, and it does not give a landfall forecast or timing. The landfall area, timing and strength are therefore not confirmed by the sources reviewed for this report.

Latest NHC reading
The National Hurricane Center’s 5:00 p.m. CDT position update on October 9, 2026, put Isaias at 115 mph maximum sustained winds, moving north at 17 mph.

Storm surge, rainfall and power outage warnings

FOX 35 Orlando reported a storm surge watch from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Yankeetown, Florida. Surge could reach 5 to 7 feet above normally dry ground from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to Indian Pass, Florida, including Mobile Bay.

10News, citing the NHC, said the risk of damaging hurricane-force winds was rising over parts of the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and Mississippi. The center told residents in those areas to prepare for the possibility of long-duration power outages. Forecasters also expect a wide wind field, with heavy rain and gusty winds possibly reaching the Tennessee and Ohio valleys over the weekend, according to 10News.

The reports reviewed do not address offshore oil and gas output, ports, or other commercial operations. Any effect on businesses in the affected states is not documented in these sources.

A quiet season and a long gap since the last U.S. hurricane

10News reported that Isaias is the season’s ninth named storm and its first to reach hurricane strength, and that the Atlantic is on pace for its quietest season since 2013. The storm formed off Mexico’s coast on Wednesday morning, the outlet said.

FOX 35 Orlando reported that an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft confirmed the hurricane-strength reading on Wednesday. According to 10News, it has been nearly two years since a hurricane made landfall in the United States. The last was Hurricane Milton in 2024, a Category 3 storm that came ashore on the Florida coast. The report describes Milton as the ninth-costliest U.S. hurricane on record.

According to the sources, Isaias has grown from a 75 mph hurricane on Wednesday to a 115 mph storm by Friday.

What remains unconfirmed

The NHC page reviewed for this report lists a hurricane advisory and links to watch, warning and storm surge products without giving their details. The watch and warning limits in effect must be taken from the center’s current products. Some headlines on the FOX 35 page describe Isaias as a Category 2 or 3 storm, while the article text gives Category 1 for the Wednesday advisory.

The Friday advisory is the most recent source reviewed. Later advisories from the NHC may change the track, intensity and landfall area, and the sources here show no updated figures after that advisory. Each source carries its own publication time, and the figures in this report should be read against those times.

Photo: TAFB/NHC/NOAA · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons