Isaias is a strong Category 2 hurricane and expected to strengthen into a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 120 mph later today.

Article last updated: Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, 11 p.m. ET

The storm was upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane on Friday morning and is expected to make landfall along the Alabama-Florida Gulf Coast Friday night or early Saturday. Updated forecasts project the storm barreling through Tuscaloosa, 200 miles inland, by 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, and moving quickly through the area by Saturday evening.

The Northern West Coast is starting to feel tropical storm conditions as Hurricane Isaias gets closer. Isaias may strike the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 120 mph this evening,

JUST IN: Saildrone Explorer SD-1045 passed through the eye of Category 3 Hurricane Isaias, recording wind gusts over 90 knots (103 mph). This is the same USV that filmed inside Hurricane Sam in 2021, setting a Guinness World Record. Watch ↓ @NOAA_AOML @noaapmel pic.twitter.com/4i6BFscUFn

Hurricane Isaias surged into Category 3 on Friday, a remarkable increase in strength for a storm that only became a hurricane on Wednesday night. The phenomenon of a storm growing

Hurricane Isaias is barreling down on the US Gulf Coast at a time when there’s almost no margin for error in the global energy system.

The remnants of Hurricane Isaias are expected to bring widespread rainfall totals of up to 2 inches across New Jersey on Sunday and into early Monday.