MIAMI — Tropical Storm Isaias formed in the Gulf on Wednesday and is expected to rapidly strengthen into the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, threatening the northern Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle with storm surge, damaging winds and flooding rain by late Friday or early Saturday.

The National Hurricane Center said Isaias could become a hurricane as soon as Thursday and strengthen to at least a Category 2 storm over the central Gulf by Friday. Hurricane watches will likely be issued for parts of the northern Gulf Coast later Wednesday.

The center warned of "an increasing risk of dangerous wind and storm surge impacts along portions of the northern Gulf Coast," adding that flooding from heavy rainfall will also be possible.

Where the storm is now

As of the hurricane center's early Wednesday advisory, Isaias was located about 285 miles west of Progreso, Mexico, and about 500 miles southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was moving east-northeast at about 8 mph.

The storm developed from a system that forecasters had tracked in the southwestern Gulf near Mexico's eastern coast. The hurricane center began issuing advisories on Tropical Depression Nine on Tuesday before it strengthened into a named storm.

There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect early Wednesday. Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters were scheduled to fly into the storm Wednesday to gather data.

Isaias........

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