Hurricane Isaias from start to finish as deadly storm leaves trail of destruction across Gulf Coast
Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, Friday night as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph.
Cleanup efforts underway in Florida's Panhandle as crews work to remove debris, restore power
Post-tropical Isaias has moved away from Florida, and crews are working across the Panhandle to restore power and clear debris from impacted areas. FOX Weather Correspondent Katie Byrne reports from Panama City Beach, talking to Kamrel Eppinger with Florida Power and Light on the latest restoration efforts.
PENSACOLA, Florida – The most dangerous Gulf Coast impacts from Hurricane Isaias have passed, but the deadly storm continues to spread heavy rain, damaging winds and flooding inland after making landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast Friday night.
From the U.S. Gulf Coast to the East Coast, Isaias has already carved a destructive path with damaging winds, torrential rain, life-threatening storm surge and a tropical tornado threat, in total resulting in the deaths of least four people and injuring others.
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Isaias is now a post-tropical cyclone after losing its tropical characteristics and is no longer fueled primarily by warm ocean waters as it moves inland toward Tennessee.
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The storm continued to produce heavy rain across Alabama and Georgia, while a dangerous tornado threat lingered across parts of the Florida Panhandle, Georgia and South Carolina, spawning numerous confirmed tornadoes on Saturday.
Tornado touches down in South Carolina as Hurricane Isaias fuels severe thunderstorms
A confirmed tornado touched down near Allendale, South Carolina, as outer bands from Hurricane Isaias fuel a heightened tropical tornado threat. FOX Weather Exclusive Storm Tracker Brandon Copic is on scene tracking the twister as the severe thunderstorms erupt across parts of the Southeast.
Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, Friday night as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph and a minimum pressure of 971 millibars, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
Isaias made landfall at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET — just one hour shy of two years since Hurricane Milton’s Gulf Coast landfall near the same time on Oct. 9, 2024.
Isaias marked the first Gulf Coast hurricane landfall since Milton, and the first hurricane of the Atlantic Basin season.
The storm’s rapid evolution began Saturday night, when the National Hurricane Center identified an area to watch with a 20% chance of development. By Monday, the system had become Invest 92L, with development odds rising to 80%.
Damage Assessment: Hurricane Isaias hammers Pensacola
Pensacola, Florida, was among the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Isaias, as the FOX Flight Team surveyed widespread damage from above.
Tropical Depression Nine formed Tuesday evening, followed by Tropical Storm Isaias early Wednesday.
After Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance found 75 mph winds and a pressure of 982 millibars, Isaias strengthened into a hurricane late Wednesday night. By Thursday evening, it had become a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 105 mph.
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Isaias briefly intensified into a Category 3 major hurricane Friday morning with winds of 120 mph, building upon the thousands of evacuations for Gulf Coast communities in Florida to Alabama ahead of the storm's arrival.
Hurricane Isaias on Thursday afternoon. (CIRA CSU / NOAA)
The storm weakened back to Category 2 strength Friday evening while approaching the Florida coast before making landfall near Destin with winds of 105 mph.
In the hours before landfall, Isaias unleashed a devastating barrage of hurricane-force winds, torrential rain, storm surge and tornadoes across the Gulf Coast, hammering communities across Florida and Alabama before moving inland, where dangerous threats still unfolding.
Isaias turns deadly across the Southeast
The powerful storm turned deadly across Florida and Alabama, where falling trees and a generator-related carbon monoxide incident claimed four lives as Isaias battered the Southeast Friday night into Saturday.
A woman in Florida and another person in Birmingham, Alabama, were killed in separate incidents when trees fell onto their homes during the storm.
1 death confirmed in Alabama as post-tropical Isaias batters the Southeast
At least one person has died as result of Post-Tropical Storm Isaias. FOX News Multimedia Reporter Asher Redd confirmed a tree fell on a home in East Birmingham, Alabama, killing one. He brings us the latest as conditions worsen from the storm's impacts.
In Florida, one man was found dead inside a garage following an incident involving a power generator, while four others inside the home were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning.
The group had been running a generator indoors without proper ventilation, Escambia County Sheriff's Office said.
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A woman in Florida was killed when a large tree collapsed onto her home during the storm.
Photo from Destin, Florida, as Hurricane Isaias made landfall. (Jarrod Maloney / FOX Weather)
In Birmingham, Alabama, one person was killed when a tree fell onto a home.
Alabama officials also confirmed a second storm-related death in the state, though additional details were not immediately available.
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In an aerial view, a worker with Southern Land Services removes a tree that landed on a home when Hurricane Isaias passed through the area on October 10, 2026, in Milton, Florida. (oe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Panama City Beach records second-highest storm surge
Panama City Beach recorded its second-highest storm surge on record, with water rising 5.60 feet above the average high tide, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
The record was set during Hurricane Opal on Oct. 4, 1995. Hurricane Michael produced a 3.86-foot surge on Oct. 10, 2018, which ranked fifth.
Hurricane winds hammer Florida as Hurricane Isaias approaches the Gulf Coast
Hurricane force winds are hammering Destin, Florida, where FOX Weather Senior Field Correspondent Robert Ray is braving the blast fueled by the dangerous Category 3 Hurricane Isaias forecast to make landfall in just a few hours.
Power outages widespread across Gulf Coast impact zone
Power outages continued across the Southeast as Isaias moved inland, with over one million Americans in the dark at the storm's peak.
As of 10 p.m. ET Saturday, more than 450,000 customers were without power in the Southeast.
Peak outages included:
- Florida: 438,000 customers
- Alabama: 287,000 customers
- Georgia: 101,500 customers
Rich Henneverry Jr. stands beside a tree branch that crashed through the roof of his mother's home when Hurricane Isaias passed through the area on October 10, 2026, in Milton, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Top wind gusts
The FOX Forecast Center reported wind gusts of more than 110 mph across parts of the Florida Panhandle, including:
- Jay: 118 mph
- Oriole Beach: 117 mph
- Santa Rosa Sound: 116 mph
- Naval Air Station Whiting Field: 114 mph
- Freeport: 110 mph
Top Wind Gusts. (FOX Weather)
Top rain totals
Rainfall totals topped a foot in parts of Alabama and Florida, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
- Bellwood, Alabama: 12.97 inches
- DeFuniak Springs, Florida: 12.47 inches
- Elba, Alabama: 9.85 inches
- Mary Esther, Florida: 8.04 inches
- Florala, Alabama: 7.80 inches
Top Rain Reports. (FOX Weather)