Hurricane Isaias barrels toward Gulf coast as category 3 storm

States of emergency declared in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi, where residents prepare for long-duration power outages'

Isaias strengthened into a category 3 hurricane on Friday morning as it barreled toward the US Gulf coast, where states of emergency have been declared in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.

The hurricane, the first in the Atlantic in what has turned into a very late 2026 season, is expected to cause a life-threatening storm surge", officials said. Isaias is forecast to make landfall on Friday night, somewhere along the Alabama-Florida line with surging seas up to 7ft (2.1 meters) and waves as high as 30ft (9.1 meters).