Isaias crashed into the U.S. Gulf Coast on Friday as a dangerous Category 2 hurricane, hammering communities in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle with damaging winds, heavy rain, flooding and life-threatening storm surges.

Hurricane Isaias got stronger overnight and is expected to make landfall near Pensacola late Friday or early Saturday. It was a Category 2 storm overnight with 105 mph winds and could reach Category 3 strength.

Article last updated: Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, 2 a.m. ET

By Daniel Becerril MANZANILLO, Mexico Oct 9 (Reuters) - Hurricane Simon is rapidly intensifying off Mexico's Pacific coast, packing sustained winds of 110 mph (177 kph) as it churns toward a stretch of coastline dotted with beach resorts and fishing towns,

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.

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.

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