Air Force Hurricane Hunter data showed Isaias at 120 mph and 959 mb by early Friday, with landfall expected in the northern Gulf warning area tonight or early Saturday.
Hurricane Isaias became a major hurricane on Friday morning in the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said after an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter flight. A tropical cyclone update at 7:20 a.m. CDT put maximum sustained winds at 120 mph, with a minimum pressure of 959 mb measured by dropsonde.
At that hour the center was about 240 miles south of Pensacola and about 170 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, moving north-northeast at 15 mph. An earlier advisory had the storm at 110 mph and said it was likely to become a major hurricane during the morning.
A later tropical weather discussion, based on the 1500 UTC position, placed the center near 27.7N 87.3W, about 170 nautical miles south of Pensacola, still with 105-knot winds and seas near the center up to 33 feet. The center said a general northward motion should continue, with landfall inside the warning area tonight or early Saturday.
A hurricane warning covered the coast from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay and Gulf county line in Florida. A tropical storm warning extended west of Ocean Springs to the Jefferson and Plaquemines parish line in Louisiana. The center said little change in strength was expected before landfall and that Isaias would likely remain a dangerous hurricane until then.
The forecast discussion then had the storm inland and down to tropical-storm strength by Saturday morning, and a tropical depression well inland by Sunday morning. The advisory did not report a completed landfall.
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- The National Hurricane Center said preparations should be rushed to completion because conditions would deteriorate quickly on Friday.