The Gulf Coast is bracing for a hurricane landfall after Tropical Storm Isaias formed Wednesday morning off Mexico's coast.
As of early Wednesday, Isaias was a minimal tropical storm but was expected to strengthen as it moves north toward the U.S. coastline. The National Hurricane Center forecasts that Isaias will become a hurricane by Thursday and make landfall late Friday or early Saturday as a strong Category 2 storm.
Areas from eastern Louisiana to Florida's Panhandle should closely monitor Isaias, forecasters said. The National Hurricane Center expects to issue hurricane watches for portions of the region later Wednesday.
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Forecasters believe Isaias will develop a large wind field as it approaches the coast, extending potential impacts well beyond the point of landfall.
That could bring heavy rain and gusty winds into the Tennessee and Ohio valleys over the weekend.
It has been nearly two years since a hurricane made a direct U.S. landfall. The last hurricane to strike the United States was Hurricane Milton in 2024, when it came ashore along the Florida coast as a Category 3 storm. Milton was the ninth-costliest hurricane in U.S. history.
Last year marked the first hurricane season in a decade without a U.S. hurricane landfall.
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The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season has been relatively quiet, with a strong El Niño helping suppress tropical activity.
Although Isaias is the ninth named storm of the Atlantic season, none of the previous storms reached hurricane strength. The Atlantic is on pace for its quietest season since 2013, when only two hurricanes formed.
The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season passed nearly a month ago.
